


Letting the Daydream Continue

by PineTrain



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Finger Sucking, Fingerfucking, Fluff and Smut, Genderbending, Hand Jobs, Loudcest, Lynncoln, Lynnka, Masturbation, POV Alternating, Rule 63, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 13:53:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11945637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PineTrain/pseuds/PineTrain
Summary: They're aged up like 4 or 5 years in this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> They're aged up like 4 or 5 years in this.

Today was a good day. Bright. Sunny. Slight breeze to keep things cool. Perfect weather to chuck a pigskin around and, hey, just bought a new football. Faaancy that.

Lynn twirled his newest acquisition atop his pointer. With a toothy grin he bopped his hand up so it hopped to the middle, the ring, the pinky, and then back across them all without losing a bit of spin. This was about the best balance he’d found in a ball for any sport and he could absolutely not wait to test it out a bit. Catching it under his arm when he approached his home's front door,  he reveled in the fading vibrations it carried, allowing them to add to his excitement as he took the knob in hand.

“LLLLIIIIIIIINNNKKK-”

His call, while loud, was drowned out by a cacophony of laughs and snorts from the living room. Frowning at the feminine quality to one of two voices that had uttered them, he marched over to the source. The TV was on, playing some old slapstick act. On the couch and in hysterics were his sole sister and Lane. Lynn grimaced as his older brother pulled Linka closer so their foreheads touched as they laughed together.

“AHEM!” he coughed.

“Oh, hee, h-hey Lynn! HEH!” Lane choked out, waving with the hand not holding Linka to him.

“Hmhmhm, y-yeah,” Linka said, her glance cut short by a snort before she could look again, “Hey Lynn. Want to watch with us? This show’s hilarious!”

Lynn was about to stomp over and grab Linka, but he held back. He was letting his emotions get away from him. “Linka,” he said calmly, but resolutely, “you promised to play catch with me today.”

“Heheh- huh?” Linka said with a start. “I did? Oh yeah! I did! Sorry Lane, I did promise!”

“No problem, Linkers,” he answered with a casual wave of the hand, “I have a skit I need to work on anyways.”

Lynn had had enough. He walked over and grabbed Linka’s wrist, turning and pulling her grumpily. She stumbled a bit at first, but caught her step and matched his quick pace.

“Sorry, Lynn. Really,” she apologized. “Lane just put the show on while you were out and I got caught up watching it with him. I didn't mean to forget about my promise.”

Opening the door to the backyard, Lynn turned to face his sister. She had a sheepish look, her free hand pushing hair behind her ear as she looked aside and light blush graced her cheeks. Her eyes met his for a second, then snapped away, the blush growing. She was adorable when she started feeling guilty.

He let her go, pulling his hand to his face as a fist to cough into. “Mhrm. Well, it's not a big deal.” He looked away from her. “And I'm sorry if I was, er, rough just now. I was just a little…” Angry? Mad? Jealous? “...upset.”

Lynn flinched. At least Linka didn't see that, even if she had heard his awkward pause and even awkwarder word choice. She looked at him, clearly sorry, but also confused. He couldn't blame her. ‘Upset’ isn't necessarily a weird reaction to a forgotten promise, but it is a bit more intense when the promise is just playing catch. He could see the gears working in her mind as she tried to read him and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

“Look, I got a great ball and I just really, really want to test it out right now,” he said, turning away again and praying that it stopped those gears. He wasn’t lying and he didn't need an in-depth reading of his emotions.

“Okay. It must be pretty great, then!” Linka said with a cheerful smile. “Can I see it?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Lynn said. He looked around for a few seconds before remembering the ball was still in his hand. He'd forgotten it was there during all this.

Linka shot him a teasing smirk as he handed it over. He just rolled his eyes in an effort to ignore her mockery of his forgetfulness. Maybe it made her feel a little less guilty about forgetting her promise. He was okay with that. He didn't REALLY want her to feel bad.

“Look! I’ve been practicing!” she exclaimed. Setting the football atop her finger she spun it with her hand. It promptly spiralled off and bounced away on the ground. “Aaaah!” she cried, chasing it.

Ten tries and chases later, Lynn was stifling a giggle as Linka, her face red and sweaty from running, returned with the ball yet again. “I swear!” she huffed. “I can do it! I did it with your other football yesterday! Just-”

“Hey, hey, sis? It’s not a big deal.”

“But-”

“We're supposed to be playing catch, remember?”

“Yeah! I know!” Linka said in adorable defiance. Her face immediately fell, though, “It’s just that I know I can do this. You taught me and I practiced so I thought it'd make up for me forgetting if I showed you.” She crossed her arms in frustration.

Lynn patted her head affectionately. “Don't worry about it. Let's just play catch.”

Linka grumbled to herself, but nodded and headed off a short distance away. Lynn stepped backwards himself, adding to the distance between them. He smiled at the fading stomp in her steps as her anger at herself cooled. She always loved impressing her brothers and since she considered herself something of an expert on managing the lot of them, failing at an attempt to do so was one of her pet peeves.

Of course, she’d have her chance at redemption soon enough. She reached her destination and turned to face him. Reaching back, she poked her tongue out and squinted in concentration, mentally calculating the details of her throw. Lynn crouched, his eyes locked on the ball as he prepared to move wherever he needed to catch it.

Nowhere, it turned out. Linka flung her arm forward, her whole body moving in support of the throw, and the ball shot through the air. It spun in a perfect, steady spiral, arcing gracefully such that Lynn merely held his hands out and it landed perfectly in them.

“Great toss, sis!” he yelled. 

Linka put her hands on her hips and grinned widely. Lynn grinned with her, glad she'd gotten over her frustration. He tossed the ball back to her and she caught it just as perfectly as she had thrown it. They settled into a comfortable pattern, tossing the new ball back and forth.

This. This was why he wanted to play catch with her. That little exchange of grins while she did something he’d taught her. A shared bit of pride between teacher and student. Something they had, just them, in this huge family.

It was such a shame he had to share her with his brothers. She really was a master at managing them all, but he wished that little fact only extended to himself. It was a selfish thought, and he didn't care at all. He had nothing against any of them, they were great and all, but it was pretty easy for him to fall into daydreams where he could have her all to himself.

No other girl got him like Linka did. Eagerly learned about his interests or provided a kind word when he needed it like she did. Had that defiant, fiery spunk that got his competitive spirit pumping and made him want to chase her down, take her in his arms and-

Well, he wasn't really sure where things went after that. Or, he had an idea of where they went, but the daydreams always started getting a rosy tint to them at that point, so he usually snapped out of them. He’d seen romance movies before and there’s usually a big ole kiss right about that point. He hoped his daydreams weren’t going to go that way too, but it wasn't worth risking it just to find out. He usually felt a little flush inside during them, after all.

Suddenly, Linka grinned devilishly as she prepared to throw the ball back once again. She chucked the ball high up in the air, drawing Lynn’s gaze with it. He could tell it was still coming to him and he made some minor adjustments to his position in preparation to catch it as he waited.

“Raaaaah!!!”

He heard the warcry a split second before the ball landed in his arms. It only afforded him the briefest moment to look back down and see his sister hunched over and barreling towards him. She had closed the entire distance between them while he had been distracted by the high-flying ball. Her light frame had kept her steps quiet so he hadn't heard her.

Lynn wasn't able to brace himself for the impact when it came. He managed to stay standing due to his greater weight, but only just barely. He was completely off balance and Linka’s follow-through forced him to step backwards in an effort to recover. She wrapped her arms around the small of his back and started digging her toes into the ground as she pressed into him. That first step back became a second, then a third, and next thing he knew he landed hard on his butt.

His back soon followed as his sister lost control of her own force. She clearly hadn't been prepared for what winning actually meant, and when he gave way her grip loosened in surprise. With her momentum lacking anything to halt it as he fell, her arms slipped up his back and her cheek slid up his torso. It had just reached his shoulder when Lynn was able to halt things.

It took considerable core strength, but it saved his head from bouncing off the ground. His body would be hurting once the adrenaline of the moment passed. Linka was flailing against him, her own balance still messed up as she lay atop him with no proper contact with the Earth.

Lynn realized he’d completely ditched the football at some point, his arms wrapped over Linka’s shoulders. He let go with one so he could drop it back and press an elbow to the ground to give his abs some relief. He squeezed his sister tighter with the other in an attempt to calm her down before he tore a muscle supporting her.

“Oh! I, RAH!” she said, looking up and shaking her head a little.

Lynn coughed, “Yeah, rah. What,” he gasped, “what was that?” It stung a little to breath at the moment.

“Um, I wanted to show I’d practiced tackling too! So, you know, I can help you more for the football season!”

Lynn shot her an incredulous grin, “You didn't have to sucker punch me with it, you know?”

“Are the other players going to be that nice, Lynn?”

“Don't be smart with me, I'll bop your head!”

Linka bit her lower lip, a mischievous and defiant glint in her eye. She swiftly moved her hands to his shoulders and popped them back. The force surprised Lynn yet again, and the elbow supporting him slipped. His head finally striking the ground, he released her and moved the hand to rub his head.

“Whose head got bopped now, Lynn?” she mocked, sitting up on his lap and crossing her arms.

Lynn growled, his temper rising with the pain as he glared at her smug face. His hands snapped to her forearms, holding them where she’d foolishly placed. He rocked his hips back and forth a few times as she struggled to get free, eventually getting the momentum to roll them over so he was on top.

Panic crossed her face as she was now on her back, but the smirk swiftly returned. She let his weight drive her forearms further into her chest, offering no resistance. Lynn knew she was planning something, but he could never have predicted what she did next. 

He hadn't been paying as much attention to their lower halves. How where once she merely sat atop his crotch, their little roll had meant her hips were raised off the ground as her butt rested on his upper legs. She helped him notice when she wrapped her legs around him and tugged him inwards.

The sensation immediately made him flush brilliantly. His muscles gave out everywhere but his butt, which he desperately pushed back with. He hoped he didn't have an erection. Oh god, that'd be horrible. Linka pecked his lips.

“Whpth! Wh-what?” Lynn yelled.

As his mind sputtered everywhere at once, he felt himself be rolled over onto his back. Now Linka was grinning down at him deviously, her arms on either side of his head. What even was happening?

“All’s fair in love and war, Lynn!” she snickered.

Lynn couldn't keep a handle on things. His adrenaline was firing, they were extremely close, and Linka just kissed him. Then she said “all’s fair.” Everything was getting that rosy tint his daydreams had, except this was real life and he couldn't just snap out of it. It was time to find out what happened if he let them keep going.

Swooping his hands in between their faces, Linka had a tiny moment of confusion at the sight of them before he slapped them outwards. Striking her inner elbows, he bent her arms out and broke her support. Linka’s upper body fell halfway towards him before she barely caught herself. Without letting her recover further, he set a hand on each of her cheeks and smashed his lips on hers.

She squeaked in surprise, but he held her in place against her reflexive retreat. Lynn wasn't the most experienced in kissing, having only done it a few real times, so he was mostly moving on autopilot, allowing his instincts to take the wheel. He’d later realize they weren't the best drivers and the kiss was a complete mess, not even in a good way, but in the moment it felt incredible. Like a weight had dropped off of him with a wonderful sensation of release.

For the few glorious seconds it happened, he poured every bit of passion he could into their connection. He didn't even have a choice in the matter, since the floodgate was impossible to close once it had opened. Not that he’d have even tried. No, it was a need for air that finally ended things.

Taking in a breath as he pulled away, it's sobering coolness helped him realize what he’d really just done. His eyes popped and he moved his head back quick enough to bounce on the ground again, bringing a slight pain. He released her face like it was on fire, which it might actually have been, for how red it was.

Linka had a faraway look, her eyes half-lidded and foggy. Her lips were slightly parted and, after steadying herself, she reached a hand up to touch them. She looked at it, then at Lynn, then at it, then back at Lynn, her eyes slowly widening as her mind found the same realization his already had.

“W-w-w-w-!!!”

“I, uh! All’s fair?!” Lynn interrupted his stammering sister.

He didn't really have anything else he could say. Even if “Why?” wasn't the question she had been fumbling over, it certainly would've been the second. And, honestly, he had no idea. It’d been the adrenaline taking control in the moment. He’d barely even been thinking, much less doing it straight.

Sure, he’d kinda fallen into daydream mode and now he finally knew where those were always going, but they were just stupid daydreams! He couldn't be the only boy who’d had a fantasy here or there that involved a sibling. That's why it was just a fantasy. He didn't know why he actually went through with it or why it felt so damn good when he did.

“Kisses aren't fair!” Linka screamed, squeezing her eyes shut in frustration and whapping his chest with her fists ineffectually.

Lynn frowned and shifted so he could sit up too. Linka obediently ceased her barrage and moved off of him. She sat cross-legged with her hands shoved down as her expression formed a strange combination of glowering anger and bashful shyness.

“So much for ‘all’,” he said sarcastically, then pointed an accusing finger at her. “Besides, you kissed me, too.”

“It was different! I just gave you a tiny kiss! Not like a, a big ole movie moment kiss with tongue and all!”

“I didn't use tongue…” Lynn muttered, glancing away. “Well, what about the, um, the leg wrap thing?”

“What about it?” Linka asked, raising an eyebrow.

“W-well, y-you, y’know, wrapped your legs around me, umm, like…” 

Lynn found it hard to bring up the topic. “Not the only hard thing!” Lane would probably say. Lynn could just hear his brother cracking up at that one.

“Yeah, so I could flip us over when I distracted you with my TINY kiss,” Linka said, placing her hands on her hips and peering at him quizzically. “So what?”

Lynn blinked. Did, did his sister really not know that girls sometimes did that during “advanced wrestling”? That his mind had instantly gone to a much different place? Maybe she was the normal one, since she’d only thought of the kiss as distracting and not where their hips had been. Lynn decided to just bury the whole thing. He was already in a weird enough situation to begin with and he absolutely did not need his sister realizing her actions could've been interpreted another way. 

“Just, nevermind,” he said quickly. “Look, I’m, um, sorry about that. I went too far.”

“That's an understatement,” Linka harrumphed. Lynn felt a twinge of pain at the comment, but stayed quiet as she continued, “It’s not a big deal though. I mean, it was j-just a k-k-kiss.”

She had tried to keep a stoic face through her statement, but it was clear the memory of it was very flustering for her. She’d lost a bit of her earlier color over the discussion, and it came right on back. She turned away, a hand covering her cheek.

“How about we just forget it?” he offered. “Why don't you go see how Lane’s doing with his skits and I’ll go buy us all some ice cream?”

Linka looked at him through her fingers, her gaze hard to read. She nodded, so he stood up and brushed himself off. He wanted to get out of there ASAP. Hopefully, she'd calm down some more and he could play things off. He knew that, despite her words, she was reading a lot more out of this situation than he liked. Since he’d surprised the hell out of himself, he needed the time it'd take to walk to a store and back to try and find both answers and some sort of explanation that wouldn't ruin his friendship with his sister.

“Lynn!” she called after he taken only a few steps towards their house to retrieve his wallet. He turned to find her twiddling her thumbs and nibbling her lower lip. “You’re, uh… it was, mmm... d-don't, I mean, just… just NEVERMIND. Go buy ice cream!”

Lynn paused just long enough to watch her thrust both her palms into her face before turning to rush inside. Yeah, he reeeally needed to figure some things out on this trip before he got back.


	2. Chapter 2

Linka hummed a tune quietly to herself as she milled about in her room. She was just trying to kill a couple of minutes while she waited for Loki to finish getting ready for their trip to the mall, so her options were limited to things she could put down easily. The comic book laying on her desk caught her eye. 

A recent purchase, she’d just read the whole thing two days ago. The art was great in this one and, since she knew the story, flipping through it again could let her appreciate it in a way she hadn't been able to before. Artists were always sneaking in little details you only catch the second go-around.

She grinned widely as she settled on the side of her bed and flipped it open. The story wasn’t bad, but it was pretty typical villain-of-the-week stuff for the heroine to deal with. Her off-and-on love interest had been taken hostage while he was snooping where he shouldn't and, yadda-yadda-yadda, he’s captured and she's gotta get him out.

The villain didn't really have any powers besides being a good fighter in a gimmicky costume, but the choreography across the pages was excellent. Whoever came up with it clearly had an appreciation for the martial arts and the artwork captured it beautifully, really giving it that sense of motion and fluidity that is difficult to find in still pictures. It moved so smoothly that it was completely believable for the heroine to not only knock the villain out with a blow, but also destroy the love interests bindings at the same time. Completely ridiculous if you thought about it, but necessary since he needed to be free for what the writer wanted next. Linka turned the page to a full spread of him launching forward, grasping her cheeks and smashing his lips to hers in a massive kiss. 

Blushing brilliantly, she slapped the comic book closed with both hands. She'd forgotten about that page and how she'd had the exact same reaction two days ago. She had purposely pushed it far from her thoughts specifically because she didn't want to think about it and, well, looks like that plan backfired on her.

“Ugh…” she groaned, setting the comic aside and putting a hand to her forehead.

She drew it down her face, then slapped her cheeks to try and prevent the growing funk inside her. That only helped her remember someone else's hands touching her cheeks just like that love interest had. And now she was thinking of the word “love interest” in relation to her brother. Her thoughts were just snowballing at this point, so she might as well stop fighting them.

Why did Lynn kiss her?

He acted like it was just part of the play-fight, but Linka wasn't stupid. That kiss was way too intense for it to be some sort of joke or something. She’d kissed a couple times before and none of them even came close to what that had been. It’d been a week and she still couldn't stop thinking about it.

Lynn had gotten back with the ice cream and apparently that was that as far as he was concerned. He hadn't brought it up at all since then. Linka wasn't sure what exactly she expected him to do, but she thought he would do  _ something _ related to it. Take her aside and apologize again, at least. Yet he hadn't mentioned it at all. She certainly had no idea how to bring things up herself, so the topic just sort of lingered like an uncomfortable fart in an elevator.

Things between her and Lynn had gotten to that level of awkward. Linka feared it would continue to be like that until the matter was set to rest. There was perhaps a chance that continuing to ignore it, as Lynn seemed to be doing, would eventually let it pass. She didn't really see that as likely, though, since every time she saw him the memory inevitably came back. 

If she had to guess, she could go maybe 5 minutes in his presence before it all came flooding back. The slight bit of perspiration forming on his forehead from the heat of the day. The look of shock he had when she flipped them and how quickly it switched to one of determination as he acted. How his hands, lightly callused from years of sports, had landed on her cheeks and gently, but firmly, commanded her to stay put. That soft, yet rough feeling of his partially chapped lips meeting hers and the burst of warmth throughout her body that eliminated any desire to resist. The longing for it to happen again after they broke for breath, but before she came to her senses.

“Heyyy, Linka, sorry that took a bit longer than I- whoa!”

Linka snapped out of her daydream memory with a jolt. She'd slipped back into it just thinking about thinking about it! This was getting ridiculous. She looked over to see Loki standing at the entrance of her room, a grin as sly as it was wide growing until it reached from ear to ear.

“Jeez, we’re going to need a bucket and mop with all that drool you're leaking everywhere,” he teased.

“I'm not drooling,” Linka said with a huff. Despite her words, she touched her mouth anyways just to be sure.

“So who’s the lucky boy that’s got you all flustered?”

“I wasn't thinking about a boy!”

“A girl?”

“What?” Linka asked, confused.

“Yeah, a boy,” Loki said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

“I said I wasn't thinking about anyone!”

“Then what were you thinking about?” Loki asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe.

“Oh! I, uh…” Linka’s mind raced for an explanation. She latched on to the drool comment for inspiration. “Ice cream!”

“Ice cream,” Loki repeated in a flat tone.

“Yeah! Ice cream! I could reeeally go for some. Can we go by the ice cream parlor at the mall?” Linka begged, tilting her head down and looking at her brother with large puppy-dog eyes. She hoped this new line of thought would dissuade Loki from prying any more.

“Riiiiiiiight,” Loki said, rolling his eyes. “Sure, I don't see why not.”

Linka knew she hadn't convinced him, but at least he was backing off for now. Hopefully the time she had bought would be enough to make him forget…

\-------

“Like the ice cream?” Loki asked, lapping at his cone.

“Mhm!” Linka hummed as she licked a melting drop before it could dribble downwards. She took a small bite of the soft treat and moved it around her mouth so it wouldn't burn any particular section with the cold sensation.

“As much as you liked when he kissed you?”

Linka’s tongue mashed the ice cream to the roof of her mouth in surprise. It stung, and she felt the beginning of an ice cream headache before she quickly swallowed to stop it from happening. She winced at the feeling of something so cold sliding down her throat and forced an eye open to glare at Loki.

He was nonchalant, merely continuing his lazy laps at his own ice cream as he watched her. He kept his face fairly neutral, but she saw the gleeful grin he was trying to hide. This was obviously a train of thought he was very intent on pressing, she might as well just answer him and satisfy his curiosity. Without divulging too many details, of course.

“I didn’t like it,” she said once she'd cleared her mouth.

“Yeah you did,” Loki said dismissively. “Like I said, you were basically drooling at the memory.”

“I was not! I checked!”

Loki rolled his eyes, “‘Basically,’ I said. Just because you weren't drooling for real doesn't mean you weren't ‘basically’ drooling. You totally liked it.”

Linka frowned, “I didn't! He just grabbed my face and kissed me out of the blue! I didn't want to kiss him!”

“Wait, he forced you?” Loki’s voice turned from teasing to serious.

Linka panicked, she hadn't meant to make it sound so bad, “I-I mean, no, he, well, he, y-yeah, sorta, I guess? It wasn't really forcing exactly, or, it was, but like, it made sense in context? I mean, I kissed him first so he was just kinda taking over the situation.”

Loki’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “You kissed him first? But you said you didn't want to-”

“I didn't! I didn't want to kiss him, um, that way… I kissed him as a joke. It was just a peck! See, we were wrestling, and I had to distract him and-”

“Waaait, wait, wait,” Loki interrupted. “So, you were wrestling with a boy, as in, close physical contact. Then you kissed him.”

“Well, yeah.”

Loki stared at her and Linka shifted uncomfortably. She licked her ice cream for a bit of comfort.

“Did, did it not occur to you that he might like you?” Loki asked.

Linka hesitated. The answer was an absolute “No”, but she knew she'd look like an idiot to Loki if she said it. He didn't understand. Obviously, she normally wouldn't have been surprised if a boy kissed her in that situation, but the thing was that the boy was their brother! Of course it didn't occur to her that he might like her.

“I-it…” she stuttered, “I, um… n-no. But it's kind of complicated.” Linka was struggling to answer him honestly, but vaguely so he wouldn't guess the truth.

“Complicated?”

“Yeah. It’d take awhile to explain, but we, uh, well I didn't think he’d think of me that way. I thought we were just good friends.”

“Good friends, huh?” Loki asked suspiciously. “Do I know this boy? I don't think I know any of your guy friends you're close enough to wrestle with, but you don't think are interested in you…”

His eyes suddenly popped with revelation and Linka felt unnerved. “Wait! You're full of it, aren't you? It's not just some random boy that surprised you, is it?” 

Linka sweated nervously, afraid of what he would say next.

“You were totally into this boy before and you've been keeping him a secret from us!”

“Wh-what?!” Linka said, flush spreading to her face. Where the hell did Loki get that idea?! She didn't like Lynn in that way before he kissed her, or after for that matter!

No, no, Loki was just reading into this with what he knew, she realized. He thought she had some secret boyfriend she'd been hanging out with. Good lord, was that better or worse than if Loki somehow guessed the truth of the matter?

Or had he, in an indirect way he wasn't even aware of? She'd fallen into that kiss so easily. It'd been stuck in her thoughts ever since it happened. What if she  _ did _ like Lynn before he kissed her and she had just been oblivious about it the same way Loki was now? An answer so ridiculous she wouldn't have even considered it if not for the kiss itself.

“Maybe I did…” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Oh! N-nothing. Nothing important!”

“Aw, you aren't sure, are you?” Loki said sympathetically, patting her shoulder.

Linka averted her eyes, not wanting to give away anything more. She'd been dumb giving anything away to begin with. What would happen if Loki found out Lynn had kissed her? There had been a dangerously protective look in his eyes when he asked if she'd been forced into the kiss. What if he thought his own brother had forced weird thoughts into her head? She didn't like her brothers fighting over petty stuff, so something that serious was a terrifying prospect.

“I'm not sure, no,” she said, looking up at Loki with a half-hearted smile. “Um, can, can I ask you for a favor?”

Loki gave a confident grin, “Need advice?”

“No, or…” she paused. Loki had helped her move her thoughts on the whole situation, which was more than she had been able to do in the last week. She shouldn't just discount him out of hand, though she'd have to be very careful about it. “Maybe. But, that's not the favor.”

“Mhm?” Loki hummed, cocking his head.

“Can you keep this between us? You know, not tell any of the others? It's really complicated and I, I don't want to make it, y’know, even more complicated,” Linka said as she watched a large dollop of ice cream slip from its perch on the cone and land on her wrist. It was cold, but she barely felt it.

“Yeah, sure, sis!” Loki said cheerfully. “Just between you and me, got it!” He leaned in, a smile on his face but a serious glint in his eyes. “But, for real, let me know if you need any help.” 

“Thanks,” Linka said, forcing a smile to match his to her face. “I will.”

“And, hey, Linka,” Loki said, leaning back.

“Um, yes?” she answered, licking the dollop from her wrist.

“Did you actually like it when he kissed you?”

His voice was quiet when he asked it this time. It didn't feel like the same teasing question as earlier, more like actual curiosity. Linka felt the memory coming back yet again, though more subdued than before. Maybe being honest about how she felt made it all less distracting?

"Yeah,” she said, warmth growing in her core. “It was really nice…”


	3. Chapter 3

Lynn’s world was nothing but fuzz.

Sight and sound were fuzz as the channels changed too rapidly for anything to play properly. His finger was fuzz as it jabbed the remote again and again. His brain was fuzz as he drowned out his thoughts with all the other fuzz around him.

He didn't want to think about anything but fuzz. Pointless, incomprehensible, comforting fuzz. He didn't know what had driven him to this because that would mean thinking about something other than fuzz. As far as he was concerned, fuzz had always been, and would always be.

His nose twitched at a scent. It was a clean smell, like rosemary shampoo, but with a bit of an earthy tone, like the soil lingering on freshly torn up grass. It wasn't the smell of fuzz, but he liked it.

It reminded him of cherries, or their flavor at least. He didn't understand why, since the smell was so different, but it reminded him nonetheless. Sweet cherries, juicy, flavorful, and deeply red. He wished he had one to press to his lips.

“Lynn…”

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw his sister walking towards him. Her arms were crossed and she looked nervous, but her feet did not hesitate. She sat next to him on the couch he hadn't noticed he was on.

“Hey Linka, what's up?” he asked, watching as she toyed with a few stray strands of her long white hair.

“Not much, I just wanted to tell you something. Something important. But I'm not sure if I should,” she said, looking away. 

He felt the odd tingle of anticipation flitter through his skin as he wondered what she had to say. Somehow, he felt like he already knew it, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He set a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to tell him what he did and didn't know.

“You can tell me anything.”

“Lynn,” she said, turning back to meet his gaze. “When… when you kissed me, it changed everything. I, I think I love you.”

“You don't mean that,” he said in disbelief, his heart pounding at the confession. “You're overthinking things.”

“I do mean it. Let me show you.”

Linka’s eyes drifted closed as she leaned in, her cherry red lips puckered and enticing as they came nearer and nearer…

\---------

A soft, melodic jingle stabbed into Lynn’s brain like a rusty prisoner's shiv. The song was as inoffensive to the ears as they came, but when you associate a particular sound with the pain of waking up, even a kitten’s purr can become an irritating thing. 

He grumbled and peaked an eye open to find his phone on the bedside table and turn off the alarm. Not long ago, he would have been popping out of bed with an uncanny level of energy, eager to take on the day, but recently a malaise had overtaken him and he preferred to sleep in. A malaise of dreams he wanted less than actual nightmares.

Lynn scrunched his body into a ball as he lay on his side flicking through his phone in a vain hope of finding a distraction. He failed, the sound of his heart thumping in the ear pressed to his pillow and the memory of her lips on his too blatant to ignore. In the dream, it hadn't been him kissing her, but her kissing him. Because she wanted to. Because she loved him.

“Uuuurggghhhh,” Lynn groaned irritably. He was glad Lars had been away the last week on some sort of overnight club project. He did not need the additional complication of a brother who “understood” his expression of pain even though he really didn't. It was much better being able to freely express his frustration without the worry of giving the reality of things away.

It was also worse in a way. Maybe if Lars was here, he wouldn't feel the desperate want for the dream to continue. For her kiss to linger and linger until he couldn't even remember when it started. It was hell waking up and realizing he wasn't just a one-time scumbag kissing his sister like that, but a possible repeat offender because he wanted to kiss her again so badly.

It was difficult to be around her ever since he'd done it. The walk to get the ice cream after it had afforded him the time to realize that, yeah, he liked his sister too much. Brothers love their sisters, but he specifically used “like” when he thought about what he'd done, fearing he might muddle the idea of familial love with something else.

The feeling was awful. He was scum. No, less than scum. He didn't know what he could call himself to properly describe how awful of a person he was to have done what he did. He felt a tiny bit happy at that, the weird success of hating himself so much he’d reached a new threshold of the feeling. Such an accomplishment. Like when you catch the football and run it across the entire field only to realize you're in your own endzone, scoring for the other team.

Why couldn't he have just let daydreams be daydreams? Maybe if he had just let himself kiss her in one of those he wouldn't have done it for real. Now he was stuck with the memory of how she had looked just after the kiss. Misty eyes lost in the passion of what had just happened, lips hovering open almost as if in disappointment that he hadn't slipped his tongue between them. Panting, needful breaths that beckoned him to return his lips to hers.

Lynn shook his head, the annoying sensation of his hair tangling as it rubbed along his pillow offering a small reprieve from his thoughts. His memory had to be wrong… but... it was so vivid, so real. The reprieve died small and he grabbed a pillow, yanking it to his chest, hugging it close and trying not to pretend it was her.

He wanted to hold her, not by the face like when he kissed her, but with his hands around her waist. Hers would be around his neck, or clutching his shirt, or somewhere else where she could pull him closer. Or maybe they'd be in bed like him and the pillow, just waking up and sharing a groggy grin before a soft, loving kiss.

Lynn felt a throb down below and shoved the pillow up into his face to muffle the frustrated groan escaping his throat. He wasn't supposed to think about Linka like this to begin with, but here he was imagining them sharing a bed. Imagining the small, content smile after that soft, loving kiss being interrupted by the shock on her face when she noticed the throb. A smile that soon returned with a sly tint since she knew he was hard not just because of morning wood, but because he'd woken up with her in his bed.

She would say nothing as one of her hands wormed its way between them. Her mischievous eyes would fix with his and she'd nibble her lip to suppress her glee as she felt him through his pajamas. He would try to kiss her lips again, but she'd avoid it, leaving him her neck as her hand dragged up his crotch, then slipped beneath his waistband.

Her slender, soft fingers would wrap the base of his member in a gentle grip. They'd move slowly up, then slowly down, and he'd moan at her touch. He would try to return the favor, but she wouldn't let him, her other hand blocking his efforts as she stroked him faster and faster. 

Linka knew he wanted her, that he was hard for her, and she loved it. She didn't need him to do anything for her now because she wanted to let him get off and to know it was her who'd done it. She didn't just accept his desires, she loved them. She loved him.

Lynn grunted as he came, his hand firmly wrapped around his shaft inside his pajama pants. Every muscle in his body felt warm and tense as he imagined it wasn't his hand, but hers. As he felt her delighted, imagined stare while spurt upon spurt of cum struck the inside of his pajamas 

His breath was heavy as he felt his libido drain away. He opened his eyes and shifted his hips, trying to adjust the sticky wetness away from his skin. It was a gross, but not unfamiliar feeling over the last week since he'd kissed her. In the early morning, when he was still half-dazed with sleep, it was hard not to resist the lustful urges his dreams brought on.

They were irritating and difficult and he really had no idea what to do. He wasn't supposed to want to be with his sister, but it was like every time he reminded himself of that, it just made him want her more. He wanted her to smile and be happy, and he wanted it to be him who gave that joy to her. He wanted her to feel the same way about him. To have moments where it was just them, staring into one another's eyes and feeling a connection neither felt with anyone else.

His imagined dreams were erotic because of how she touched him, yes, but what he found truly erotic was how she saw him in them. He wasn't her brother, but her lover. Even if they were nothing but dreams, Lynn had never felt so desired as when he imagined Linka wanted him. She would see him in a way other girls didn't. Understand him the way no one else did.

He felt like such a creep thinking that way. Obsessing over his sister and soiling his clothes as he masturbated to the thought of her. Lynn hated how he couldn't help it. He had tried to fight it, to pretend it wasn't true, but he wasn't finding any success. He was in love with Linka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't initially intend this story to become explicit but it's also getting longer than i meant so YOLO or whatever ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, Linka?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you and Lynn fighting or something?”

Linka turned from the TV to look at Lexx. They were watching a pageantry show, so it was odd that he would ask her such an unrelated question when he normally would have been enraptured. Of course, she was more bewildered by the topic of his question in light of recent events.

“No. Why?”

“Cause Lynn was just walking by in the hall and, like, he totally looked like he was going to come in here, but then he just kept going past.”

“So?”

Lexx looked at her with disbelief. “It's kind of obvious. You’re avoiding each other. Like, did you think we wouldn't notice?”

“Just because he didn’t come in here doesn’t mean we’re avoiding each other,” Linka said, feeling a little worried about Lexx’s use of “we”.

“Yeah, but he’s been doing that a lot recently when you’re in a room. And sometimes you do it too, if he’s in a room.”

“I'm not avoiding him!” Linka said sternly. “It’s just a coincidence or something. Lynn hates this kind of show; that’s why he didn’t come in here.”

Lexx cocked his head as he considered her words. He shrugged and nodded at Linka, apparently accepting that line of thinking, then he turned his attention back to the show.

She hadn’t completely made the excuse up. It was a true enough statement, at least in regards to Lynn’s opinion of what was on the TV. Linka knew Lexx was most likely correct about her presence being the real cause, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She had to do what she could to stop him from pulling on that particular thread. Him and anyone else he was including when he had said “we”. It probably meant some of her brothers, since they were the only ones likely to notice any recent changes. She hoped it didn’t actually include  _ all  _ of them, but that was a very real possibility. 

It was also a true statement in the sense that she wasn’t really avoiding Lynn. If anything, she wanted to talk to him. Wanting and doing are different things, though, so it was difficult to transfer talking the talk in her mind to walking the walk in real life. The times she didn’t enter a room Lynn was in were mostly aborted attempts to try and pull him away so they could sort things out. So, maybe it was avoiding in a way, but Linka was at least trying.

She could believe the same was true for him, though she didn’t really know. It was a difficult thing to deal with, after all. How do you even start a conversation about something like this? Should you be blunt? “Yo! Bro! About that kiss…” No, that felt super weird. Perhaps subtle instead? But how do you subtly slip in this sort of topic? “Haha, yeah, good times. You know, that reminds me about the time we made out…” That sounded even weirder than being blunt.

It wasn’t helping that she was starting to feel mixed up about the whole thing ever since Loki had confronted her on the matter. Before that day, she’d just been thinking of it as a very odd moment between her and Lynn that needed to be sorted out. She’d had inklings that maybe there was more to it on his end of things, but Linka hadn’t really considered that maybe there was more on her side too. She’d known it was the best kiss she’d ever had, but she had figured that it was because Lynn was way more into it than any other boy she’d kissed before. Loki’s wild guess at what had happened was making her wonder if there was more to why exactly it was her best kiss than merely what Lynn had been feeling at the time.

And she didn’t even know exactly what he’d been feeling. That was the most annoying thing about the fact they hadn’t talked. What if she was completely wrong in her assumptions? What if it really was just some joke that had gone too far like Lynn had claimed? What if he was avoiding her specifically because he thought she thought he was more into her than a brother should be and he was worried about encouraging that line of thinking just like she was worried about encouraging Lexx or Loki or anyone else to examine anything about this whole situation more deeply? It was all so complicated.

Linka eyed her younger brother, apparently now enthralled with the show like she had expected before. Satisfied he was properly distracted, she cautiously rose from the couch and exited the room. Reaching the hallway, she checked that it was empty, then cocked her ears to listen for anyone approaching. Things seemed safe, so she took a moment to assess her situation.

She didn’t know for certain how she felt about the kiss besides the fact that she had enjoyed it. She also didn’t know for certain how Lynn had felt about it, but she strongly suspected there was a lot below the surface that had pushed him to it. Although, in light of her uncertainty about her own feelings, there might be things under the surface pushing her to think like that, so maybe she was wrong, maybe she was just seeing things she wanted to see. Really, the only thing she truly knew for a fact was that there were now at least two of their brothers who had noticed a change in her behavior.

As she stood in the hall, Linka felt alarm growing inside her. Loki had said he wouldn’t talk about what she’d told him, but what if one of their other brothers caught her like he had and followed the same line of thinking? Or what if Loki was among the “we” Lexx had mentioned? Would he put two-and-two together and realize just who the boy who’d kissed her was? The other day she’d only realized after the fact that she’d never said there was a kiss before Loki mentioned it himself, so she was clearly giving away more than she should when flustered. And even if Loki wasn’t in the “we”, one of them might talk to him about it and then he might as well be in that group as far as the risk of discovery went.

She supposed she could count on the sheer ridiculousness of the matter stopping the connections from being made. It wasn't as though her situation was a common one. Still, it felt like a flimsy defense to just hope that was the case and do nothing. What if it was like in the movies where someone says something stupid and that gives an epiphany? “What if they maaade out and that’s why they’re fighting?!” Leif says as a juvenile joke and everyone laughs, but then Loki thinks more about it, and realizes maybe it isn’t so ridiculous…

Linka decided she couldn’t hesitate on this anymore. She could be over-thinking things, but the risk was too great. Maybe she and Lynn wouldn’t be able to figure out what exactly things were like between them now, but they had to reach an understanding on how they should act so those things stayed between them and only them. She thought about where Lynn might have gone after avoiding the living room and decided to try the kitchen first, since he was always up for a snack with all his physical activity.

Sure enough, she found him standing at the counter, tapping at his phone that lay upon it with one hand while his other held a small partially eaten sandwich. Linka hastily walked up and grabbed the wrist of his sandwich hand. He jolted and turned to her, his mouth still chewing on the last bite. She looked him in the eyes for a few seconds, picking her words carefully.

“Come on, Lynn. Let’s go throw the football around.”

He blanched, and Linka couldn’t blame him. She’d have reacted exactly the same if he’d done that to her. Still, she needed to talk to him and referencing that day was the best way to let him know what they’d be talking about. Sort of, anyways, since Lynn didn’t know she was still majorly on the fence and this was more about keeping things on the down low.

Lynn swallowed a little too fast and coughed, “Keh! I’ll go get the ole pigskin!”

He swung his arms in a half-hearted attempt at an excited stance, then shuffled off to the stairs. Linka crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. Her own confusion about her feelings was starting to mix with the paranoia of the situation being discovered and she felt incredibly antsy.

She was about to run in and check if Lynn had chickened out when he returned with a football. Linka didn’t know if he intended to say anything when he stopped in front of her, simply grabbing his wrist and tugging him to the front door.

“Er, the backyard’s the other way?”

“We’re gonna practice, um, what do they call long throws?”

“A lot of things,” Lynn grumbled irritably. He was moving past his surprise and clearly wasn't happy with how she was doing this.

“You know what I mean!” Linka said, ignoring his tone.

“A Hail Mary?”

“Yeah, one of those! So we need a lot of space!”

They continued for a few blocks mostly like that, her tugging him along. He’d occasionally catch up to her pace, but she didn’t feel like she could walk alongside him so she intentionally slowed down and sped up randomly to throw him off. Linka felt guilty messing with him like that, but it was going to be hard enough once they’d gotten to an acceptable distance to talk.

“We’re going the wrong way if you want to go to the park,” Lynn said, his irritation now very blatant.

It was about as good of a start as any, so Linka stopped and turned to him. “I know, but we have to talk.”

Lynn’s look of annoyance flickered away for a second, then returned. “Okay, but you don’t have to drag me around like that.”

Linka realized she was still holding his wrist and released it, drawing her hand to her chest. Lynn’s face flickered again.

“Sorry,” she said. “I just got scared. I mean worried.”

“What do you mean?” Lynn asked, his expression dropping into panic. “I- um, I’m so-”

Linka shoved her palm to his mouth to silence him. “I don’t mean about that! I meant, um,” she looked around, “let’s keep walking.”

Lynn nodded and began following her after she dropped her hand and continued onwards. She noticed he was trying to stay as far away from her side as he could, even falling a quarter-step behind her to increase the distance. Why couldn’t she have said something different? Something that didn't spook him and wouldn’t have made this more difficult?

Whatever, she had to get to the point. “So, about that kiss,” Oh god she was actually going the blunt route. “We’ll talk about that all later.” Very blunt. “Right now we need to talk about how we’re acting around each other.”

“I, uh?” Lynn grunted, perplexed.

“Lexx just told me he noticed we’ve been avoiding each other and said some other people have too.”

“So? Our family gets in fights all the time.”

“Not usually with me, though!” Linka said. She hadn’t even thought about that factor until now. Oh crap was it a good thing she’d acted quickly.

“I, I guess that's true. But, um, what’s the big deal? He was just talking about how we’re acting around each other and not, y-y’know,  _ why  _ we are?”

Linka hesitated and scratched at her cheek, a shallow attempt to hide her blush. “I talked with Loki about it.”

“WHAT?!”

“SHHHSSHSH!!!” Linka spun to grab Lynn and shove a hand over his mouth again. They were quite a distance from their home, but there wasn’t any value in attracting attention.

“You told Loki?!” Lynn hissed in a lower voice when she removed her hand. He sounded scared, or maybe just worried, she kinda sucked at knowing the difference today apparently.

“Not exactly, he just sort of guessed.”

“He guessed that I kissed you?!”

“Um!” Linka shot a look around to check if anyone was around to hear them. There was no one, but she didn’t like the fact that they’d stopped moving since he’d yelled.

Lynn grunted in frustration, “There’s a house a block over that’s still being built. Let’s talk there.”

Linka nodded and followed along. She noticed the situation had reversed, with her walking far from him and a quarter-step behind. She didn’t really like the distance, but she maintained it until they arrived. The house was mostly bare wood with plastic covering the outside, but it had the skeleton of what would soon be built, including a garage for the ground floor.

A garage that lacked doors, and, after taking a quick glance around, Lynn grasped her wrist and tugged her through the opening to a staircase. She followed him to the 2nd floor, and then to a inner section that lacked windows. It was dim, smelled of sawdust, and hot with the poor ventilation, but it was quiet and comparatively secluded. She had to trust that Lynn knew no workers would come by while they were here.

“What’d he guess?” Lynn asked, turning to her.

“That I was thinking about a boy and that it involved a kiss,” Linka answered, avoiding his eyes.

“A boy?”

“I didn’t tell him it was you! He thinks I have a secret boyfriend or something.”

Lynn blinked and took a step back, his face flushing. “Why’d he think that?”

Linka shuffled her feet, “He just sort of jumped to conclusions after he knew we’d kissed.”

“What?”

“L-look, it’s not important right now!”

“I think it’s imp-”

“We need to worry about them asking questions!” Linka interrupted. “It doesn’t matter what Loki thinks right now, just that he might figure out it was you. He already knows I did something, uuuuuh… big?... with a boy and if he notices us avoiding each other, then he might realize you’re the boy!”

Lynn cocked his head at her and opened his mouth to say something. He stopped, though, and folded his arms. After a few seconds he spoke up.

“But, wait. Why would he think it was me? Wouldn’t he just think we were fighting and you were into another boy?”

“Well, maybe. I guess I didn’t think about that…” Linka lied, looking down.

The entire reason she'd grabbed him was because she didn't think that was a safe enough line of thinking. Now that she heard it from his mouth as well, she felt like she'd maybe jumped the gun on this. Just because she got kissed and was “fighting Lynn” didn’t mean the two were connected in any way from an outside perspective. Even considering what their eldest brother knew, wouldn't it be more likely that Loki would think Lynn and her were fighting because he disapproved of the boy or something?

She'd been working off her own knowledge of the situation and had fallen into the common fallacy of assuming others could reach the same conclusions she had. But she knew things the others didn't, like how she had liked Lynn’s kiss. She glanced up and saw him looking at her curiously. It made Linka feel embarrassed and she ran a hand up her temple to push some stray hairs behind her ear.

“Why did Loki think you have a secret boyfriend?” Lynn asked quietly.

Linka flinched, then sucked in her breath and sighed. Now was as good a time as any to bite the bullet, not that she couldn't be vague.

“He walked in on me when I was thinking about the kiss.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means what I said. But I have a question!” Linka redirected. “Why did you kiss me?”

“It was a-”

“It was not a joke.”

Lynn frowned and looked aside. He reached up with one hand to the back of his head as he thought. “I wan-” his breath caught, “I mean, because you kissed me.”

Linka glared at him, flinging her arms high in the air and bringing them down to cross her chest in a dramatic show of disbelief.

“Because I wanted to…” Lynn muttered.

“Why’d you want to?”

“Same reason you were thinking about the kiss when Loki walked in on you.”

Even in the terrible ventilation of the half-constructed building the air still somehow managed to stand even more still. Linka’s eyes widened as she processed the implications of what he’d just said. Lynn’s eyes widened too.

“I meant that as in, like, um, you said ‘I meant what I said’ or something when I asked you what you meant and I was doing like a, uh, a parallel kind of thing? Where I answer without answering? I didn’t mean that you were thinking, um…”

Linka was starting to feel a little haywire. Did Lynn just sort of confess to her? It made waaay too much sense that Lynn had wanted to kiss her for the same reason she’d been drooling-but-not-drooling when Loki had caught her, even if that reason had yet to actually be said. Was the fact that she was making this connection an admission of how she really felt about everything? Had  _ she _ just sort of confessed with her reaction to what he said?

She’d really stumbled into this one without thinking.  _ Crap, crap, crap _ , she had to skedaddle. “I’m heading home,” she said robotically. She turned and marched away to the staircase. She didn’t hear Lynn following so when she reached the ground and had gone a block, she pressed her hands to her hot face and ran the rest of the way home, then straight to her room and right into her bed where she could cling tightly to her pillow and tell herself that her racing heart was a product of exercise and nothing else.


	5. Chapter 5

It'd been an interesting few weeks for Lynn. First he kisses his sister, and everything gets super awkward between them. Then he accepts the fact that he loves her and hates himself for being so weird and creepy. And then she drags him off to talk about how things might look to others (an admittedly scary matter), only for an off hand comment he made to send her scurrying back home.

He hadn't even been thinking when he said it. It was just the sort of thing that falls out of your mouth when you've gone into the autopilot of a conversation; where your thoughts are only a half-step ahead of your words. He had intended to make the parallel, like he told her, but he hadn't considered what his words could mean in context.

At the time, he'd been more panicked about the fact he'd accidentally admitted how he really felt, but after a few hours of sweating about it, both figuratively and literally, in a balled up heap in the corner of the half-finished room, he came to a realization. It seemed so obvious, but he'd been too freaked out to notice at first. Too scared of not only how Linka was going to react, but Loki, if she told him, or even possibly their whole family, in a worst case scenario.

Lynn hadn't said he loved her, just that he'd kissed her for the same reason she'd been thinking about that kiss.So why did she react the way she did? 

He didn't know how exactly she interpreted that comment, but it was difficult to put together many ways those two particular reasons could match. After all, she didn't know exactly what he meant when he said it. Of course, the reason Lynn had panicked was because he thought she did, but once he'd calmed down and thought about it, the only reason she might think it was a confession was if…

He realized that wasn't necessarily true. It wouldn't be hard for her to figure out his feelings after what he'd done, especially considering Lynn didn't know what exactly Linka  had talked with Loki about. Maybe she'd gotten freaked out because he inadvertently suggested she felt the same way when she really didn't. But then, she'd said Loki had guessed the basics; what did she do or say that gave their brother that impression?

Maybe it was just because he wanted it to be true, but Lynn couldn't stop himself from thinking maybe Linka could just might possibly actually be interested in him? He wasn't the detective sort of guy, but the pieces fit in his head. Maybe him kissing her had set things off for her like they had for him.

It was a nice thought. Very nice. And such a different feeling than all that self-hate he'd been going through recently. Now when he snapped out of dreams of kissing her Lynn didn't feel revulsion roil in his stomach. It was more of a happy, floaty feeling, a continuation of the way he felt while dreaming, as if it never ended even though he was awake.

So Lynn had made a resolution to himself. He was normally the proactive sort of guy, but he'd recently taken a major hit to that part of himself with all this turmoil. These newer thoughts about Linka’s behavior didn't just bring him out of the hole he'd been in, they put him back in a place where he wanted to push forward. He might not really know how she'd react, but he wasn't going to let himself drop back into depression if he could help it. He was going to do something.

Lynn was going to ask his sister out on a date.

It wasn't going to be an easy thing, he knew that. Even ignoring everything what had happened, how do you ask your sibling out in a way that makes them understand what you're really asking? “Do you want to go to the movies this weekend?” has a very different connotation depending on who you're talking to. Even friends can wonder if there's more to it than just hanging out when there isn’t, or miss the fact that there really is more to it when there is. And what's the likelihood a sibling would catch the distinction? Well, in this case, pretty likely… at least a week ago.

As groundbreaking as the whole conversation had been for Lynn, it also hurt his efforts in a way. Even though she'd run away so quickly, Linka had evidently been very serious about normalizing their relationship around their family. Whatever she felt, she'd completely returned to the way she behaved before this all had started. Lynn had noticed, but the change had really been driven home when Luke had patted him on the shoulder a few days ago.

“Dunno what was going on with you two, but good job working it out,” he'd said.

On the one hand, it made Lynn feel a bit of relief. Linka had mentioned the possibility of people catching on and this was a sign they were getting past that fear. On the other, it was evidence things might be normalizing more than he wanted. Not that he wanted to be caught, but he was afraid he might only have a small opening before Linka completely shut out any idea of things going further. Even if he was right about her feelings, there was a chance she might crush them under the issues of loving a sibling that had been plaguing him recently. Issues that didn’t intimidate him quite so much if she was also experiencing them. Maybe this was something they could work through together.

He just needed an opportunity with her alone to ask her out, which wasn't an easy task. While she was now willing to hang around him with others in the room, she apparently had an excuse to leave the room whenever it might just be the two of them. Behavior that was both encouraging, considering his suspicions about her feelings, and discouraging, since he feared that small window of opportunity before those feelings were crushed might soon be closed.

\-----------

And all that complicated mess was where Lynn sat at a sudden moment of opportunity. It was a circumstance he couldn't have created even if he was as smart as Levi, too perfect in how normal it was. The sort of situation that provides a rare moment precisely because it's so common in just the right way.

He entered the living room to find Linka, Lane and Leif laughing at the TV. After sharing a short glance with his sister, Lynn noticed Lane tapping at his phone. The TV abruptly turned black, then popped back up with completely different content from what had just been on. They were casting videos from their phones.

At that point, he hadn't realized the fortuity of the situation. It was just him and Linka in the same room with their brothers. Yet as time passed and other members of the family came and left in turn, Lynn gradually noticed that he and Linka were the only ones who had been there since the beginning. It took a few hours, but eventually it was just the two of them and Levi, who'd been constantly checking his watch and mentioning he would need to get back to an important, time-sensitive experiment.

When he finally left, Linka looked back at the TV nonchalantly after a word of encouragement to their younger brother. Lynn tensed a bit, worrying over the fact that she apparently hadn't noticed it was just the two of them like he had. It was the moment of truth and he naturally feared catastrophic failure. Had he waited too long to do this? Had she moved past feelings he wasn't even 100% certain she had?

“Hey, Linka,” he said, pushing away his fear.

“Yeah?” she asked, turning to him. She blinked a few times when her eyes met his, then looked around. “Oh. Everyone’s gone.” She clasped her hands together in her lap and looked down. “That reminds me, I need to go, um-”

“Do you want to go see a movie tomorrow?” Lynn blurted out.

“I, uh, what movie?” Linka said, taken aback as she turned to him again.

“That new superhero one. With the lightning guy?”

“Oh, I saw it on opening night already.”

Lynn flinched and tapped his thumbs together as he looked away. “I- I know. But you said you liked it enough to see it again, and, um, I haven't seen it, so I thought…”

Lynn trailed off, forgetting what he'd planned to say after that. He wasn't good with movies, much less superheroes, and much much less superhero movies. He just wanted to pick something she'd like and she'd said she'd liked that.

“O-okay, I guess,” Linka said. “I think Leif might like it, too, so-”

“Just us!” Lynn interrupted. “It would just be us going to see it. No one else.”

Linka flushed, “Why just us?”

Lynn stared her in the eye and gave a half-smile. “Because it's a date…”

“A what?!”

“A date. I'm asking you out on a date.”

“Why are you asking me out on a date?” she asked nervously.

Lynn didn't really know how to answer that. He had kind of expected a “yes” or “no” response, not a “why”. Wasn't it obvious why he was asking her out? He tried to imagine how he'd respond if it was another girl asking him that. “Because I like you and want to date you.” That's probably what he'd say, but he didn't exactly feel ready to say something so blunt in this situation because it wasn't another girl, it was Linka. Things were more complicated.

The only sound in the room came from the TV while he hesitated. Despite its noise, things were uncomfortably quiet as seconds continued to tick by with no answer coming to him. Linka's eyes flicked around as she waited, never holding his gaze for more than a second.

“Be-because I want to go on a date with you,” he eventually choked out. He had to say something before things got  _ really _ awkward and the complete non-answer was the best he could do.

His sister frowned, displeased with his response. Lynn wondered if maybe that was a good thing in a way, since she seemed to have shaken her nervousness. It was replaced by frustration, sure, but at least she settled down a bit and wasn't going to dart off like in the unfinished house.

“I, um,” she mumbled after a few seconds, looking down, “I don't know if that's a good idea.” Lynn’s heart sank a bit. “You're my brother and we’re not supposed to go on dates.”

His heart perked back up at the second sentence. He'd known the chance of getting an easy “yes” was unlikely going into this, so he'd come up with some follow-ups for a few of the “no” possibilities. This was the best type he could've hoped for (besides “no, let's go tonight” or something like that) since it meant the reason she didn't want to do it wasn’t because of how she felt, but because of society's rules. The way she'd worded it, she might even  _ want _ to say yes, but didn't think she could.

“Oh, oh!” he exclaimed in false surprise, holding his hands up between them. “You thought I meant that kind of date? I meant a platonic date.”

“A what?” she asked, looking back up with a slightly confused expression.

“You know, not a date-date, just a date! Nothing romantic or anything, just two people going out and doing something together. So, it's technically a date,” Lynn explained, looking away from her as nervous sweat formed on the back of his neck.

“Really? People call those dates, too?”

“Yeah! Some people! And I'm one of them!”

He wasn't exactly lying, just muddying the facts a bit. He knew some people did make that distinction, though this was the first he'd ever done it himself. He'd completely meant it to be a date-date, but he was alright with just a platonic date if that was the best he could do right now. The important thing was it'd just be the two of them.

Linka’s brow furrowed in a slight frown as she glanced aside in thought. Lynn pretended to scratch the back of his neck while he waited, brushing the sweat away. She looked back at him with a mix of nervousness and suspicion.

“So, we'd just be going to a movie together?”

“Um, well,” this might be pushing his luck, “I was thinking of doing a later movie, so, y’know, dinner, too.”

They stared at each other for what felt like forever and Lynn’s sweat returned.

“But… just those, right? Nothing, er, more?” Linka asked quietly.

“Yeeeeeaaaahhh…” Lynn said with a forced smile. He had no idea what she meant by “more.” To be honest with himself, he’d been hoping maybe he could slip in a few things beyond just dinner and a movie. Not a kiss or anything, just small stuff like an arm over her shoulder or holding hands. Just getting her to agree to dinner and a movie was already pushing things from how she acted so he might have to hold back even from those simple acts.

Linka stood up, her arms folded. “Sure. I have something to do right now, so let me know what time I need to be ready later.”

Lynn watched her shuffle away out of the room, then leaned into the couch with a sigh. He’d done it. He’d asked her out and she’d actually agreed. It wasn’t a guarantee of anything, but it was a step in the right direction. At least he hoped it was.

He looked at the TV, now playing some random video, and the sudden weight of this date really started to weigh down on him. He’d been so focused on getting it to happen in the first place, he hadn’t really thought about how to handle things in this situation. Yeah, he’d imagined trying to hold her hand and such, but had he thought about what he was going to wear? Should he dress more casually than he intended since he had committed to a “platonic” date? And nuts, when he’d originally thought of them having dinner, he’d been thinking of a restaurant, but maybe that was pushing things? He had considered the possibility of using the date as a springboard to something more, but now he had to seriously sit down and work out the details of how he was actually going to do that.

Shit. He only had until tomorrow. And fuck, he didn’t even know the movie times for tomorrow. Why didn’t he figure these things out ahead of time?


	6. Chapter 6

“Sold out!?”

“Yes, sir, but there's another showing 40 minutes later, if that's alright?”

While Lynn spoke with the harried teenger in the box office, Linka adjusted her weight, suddenly discomforted by the hiccup in today’s plans. Things had been feeling pretty easy so far, all things considered, but this minor surprise pulled her out of the flow. It might have been Lynn’s exclamation (which almost certainly drew attention towards them from the long line behind) that made her very self-aware of not just how she was dressed, but also why.

It wasn't really anything special, since Linka wasn't the most fashionable of girls, but the fact was that she'd really sat down and stared at her closet for a solid hour before deciding on the simple yellow sundress with orange buttons which said something about her feelings regarding this date. She wasn't sure what exactly, though she had to admit she was leaning towards “excited.” Why else would she be so concerned about what to wear to a platonic date?

Not that she really believed Lynn about that. Regardless of what he'd said, it was pretty obvious he'd been hoping for it to actually be a more typical date. He was certainly playing that part up though, considering his standard shorts and a jersey weren't about to impress any girls. Linka did wonder if he'd spent a lot of time at his own closet, pondering as she had about what outfit would seem the most innocuous for a platonic date.

It was like one giant joke and she didn't know who was supposed to be fooled. Despite probably wanting to go on this date when he asked, she'd forced Lynn to make up some crap about just hanging out. It wasn't as if they'd told anyone this was happening before they'd left so they didn't  _ need _ to establish it wasn't a romantic excursion from the very beginning. Granted, she REALLY wouldn't have known how to prepare if it'd been established that way since she still felt very unsure about everything in this weird episode of her life.

Of course, that raised the confusing possibility of Lynn feeling the same way as she did about it. Linka was pretty sure he liked her  _ that _ way, but maybe he didn't? What if he really did intend this to be a normal hangout, maybe to try and scale things back a bit? His clothes were so normal for him, whereas she had tried for something a bit nice, but not too nice. It was pretty flimsy evidence and Linka was probably way overthinking things, but it was hard to shake the fear.

Ah, “fear.” Thinking of her concerns in that sense was definitely more proof she'd totally wanted to come on a proper date. Linka looked at her brother as he begrudgingly bought the later tickets, then followed as he stepped away from the box office. He was frustrated, similar to her, but at least he was frustrated by something actually going on instead of getting worked up in circles by his thoughts. She decided to try and do that, to just stay in the moment and not worry so much over the bigger picture. She was on a date she apparently wanted to go on, may as well enjoy it.

“Damn it,” Lynn said, folding his arms, “I know it's popular, but I thought this was early enough it wouldn't be sold out.”

“Well, when you said it was a ‘later movie’ I thought we'd be eating dinner first, then going to see it. So you're not the only one who was wrong about movie times,” Linka offered.

Lynn’s frustration melted into a sheepish smile, “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I did mean it that way at first, but then I thought it'd be better to do it this way. So we'd have something to talk about while we ate, y’know?”

Linka raised an eyebrow, “You don't think we'd be able to find something else to talk about?”

“No, I mean, yes, but I just wanted to, uh…” he trailed off and his eyes widened just barely enough to notice, like he realized he had said more than he meant.

“Just wanted to…?” Linka pressed. He didn't answer. “Lynn.” she pressed harder.

“Pff, fine! I just wanted to make sure we had something to talk about that you like. I figured I'd only come up with sports stuff or something.”

Linka hummed quietly to herself at her brother's slight frown while he looked away and her own lips curled into a smile. It was a cute reaction, particularly because he hadn't wanted to admit he'd completely switched his plans around based on what he thought she would enjoy.

“I would've been alright with that,” Linka said. “I like sports, too, y’know. Maybe not as much as you, but still, I think they're fun. I was helping you practice football, remember?”

Lynn stiffened and his cheeks started grow pink. “Y-yeah, of course I do,” he muttered.

It was time for Linka’s eyes to widen as she realized she'd said more than she meant. Whoops! She hadn't meant to bring up that memory! She felt her own cheeks growing warm as well, but her thoughts fumbled when she tried to come up with how to change the subject.

“Anyways!” Lynn said loudly. “We have an extra 40 minutes to kill. What do you want to do?”

“Uh! I dunno, I've never been here before,” Linka answered, looking around. It was a mall a fair bit further out than the place they usually went. That wasn't a detail that had escaped her notice on the drive over, but Linka was currently trying not to read into things. The important thing was that she wasn't familiar with it. “Do they have a bookstore?”

“What mall doesn't?” Lynn teased. Linka was tempted to bap his arm for the comment, but ignored the urge. She was glad for the quick turnaround of mood that had just occurred.

“Then where is it?” she countered.

“Follow me,” Lynn said with a confident smile.

Linka was genuinely surprised by his answer. She followed him and, sure enough, there was the bookstore after a few minutes of walking. Did he know she would want to come here if they had extra time? Had he investigated the mall in case this came up? Had he been here before on another occasion?

She waited until he pushed open the outer door, then turned to hold it for her, before she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts.  _ In the moment, _ that was what she was trying for. “Thank you,” she said quietly, then darted forward to open and hold the inner door for him. 

Lynn quirked his head before he passed through and murmured a similar thanks, but Linka felt pleased by the equality of things. As time went on, she was getting more into the idea of making this date a good experience and meeting Lynn tit-for-tat seemed like the best way to start.

“So… any section you want to check out?” Lynn asked as they stood at the entrance of the store.

“How about the comics? We're going to see a superhero movie after all.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

Lynn’s tone bothered her. Not dismissive or resigned or anything, more like non-caring. It wasn't the same feeling as when he had wanted to do dinner after the movie to make sure they talked about something she liked. Instead it was as though he literally had no interest in anything here so if Linka hadn't had an opinion they'd just wander about aimlessly.

She supposed that made sense, knowing Lynn, but it messed with the good mood that'd been growing within her since they'd entered. Linka had appreciated how Lynn had made efforts to make sure she enjoyed the date, but she wanted him to enjoy it, too. Tit-for-tat, after all.

“Hey, Lynn, have you ever read manga?” Linka asked as they reached the comic section.

“Read what?”

“Like, Japanese comics.”

“Oh, that stuff? Nah. I mean, I don't even read- er! I don't read!”

Linka glanced at him, her eyelids drooping with annoyance. Was Lynn really so desperate not to say he didn't read comics at all that he didn't notice he'd said he doesn't read period? To be fair, she could believe it in this context, but it was still hard to tell if it was a funny pathetic or just regular pathetic thing to say. No, no, no, she shouldn't be thinking that. He was just trying to make her happy and she'd just resolved to make him happy too.

“Yeah… I don't really read them too much either, but,” Linka grabbed his wrist and pulled him in the direction of the neighboring manga section, “I've heard they have sports ones. Most American stuff is superheros, but the Japanese do a lot of other stuff, I think.” Examining the shelves before them, she mumbled to herself, “Wasn't there that football one…?”

“Football?” Lynn asked, his voice perking up. “Oh, hey, what's that? Eye-something?”

Linka felt him press past her and saw his hand reach out to one of the books that had its face outward instead of its spine. After he pulled it away, she saw another copy behind it that featured an anime boy in American Football attire. Apparently just her mentioning it had drawn Lynn’s eyes to exactly what she'd been thinking of like a magnet. Linka shrugged, not about to argue with results and decided to instead search for another manga she'd heard about regarding superheros and academies or something.

She couldn't find it, though, so she returned to the American comic books section to look them over. She picked something that only looked mildly interesting since she didn't want to get too into the story with the time limit they had. As she opened the pages, Linka looked over at her brother to see how he was doing.

It was a rare sight to see him so into something that involved reading, even if it did have pictures to go along with it, yet there he was, hunched over the pages with rabid attention. Linka could hardly remember the last time she'd seen him bury himself in a book so thoroughly. A surge of pride flew through her that she'd been able to give him this experience. She always liked making her brothers happy, but there was an additional sense of accomplishment due to her goal for the day.

Linka nibbled her lip between her canines, stopping herself from going back into thinking about the big picture. She hadn't been thinking deeply when she brought up the manga and, if anything, that meant things went better that way.  _ Just stay in the moment _ , she told herself.

They stayed there for a bit longer than intended due to the fact Lynn forgot to keep an eye on the time and Linka had assumed they weren't going to be buying anything. It turned out Lynn actually wanted to get a few volumes so despite her thinking they had ample time to head to the theater they were instead forced to wait in line at the register before they could briskly walk to their destination. 

Halfway there, though, Lynn gasped suddenly. “Oh crap! What if there aren't seats next to each other?!” he exclaimed. “Come on! We gotta hurry up!” He grabbed Linka’s hand and pulled her along into a jog.

They would have made it on time at their previous pace, but he wasn't wrong about there possibly being trouble finding seats together considering the last showing had been sold out. Still, Linka couldn't help but wonder if this was an elaborate ploy so he could hold her hand without it seeming like he wanted to. That sounded a little too clever for Lynn, though. It was more likely just him not thinking until the last moment like usual. 

The result was the same either way, and Linka found herself focusing on their point of contact. Staring at it made her stumble a bit as they moved, so she tore her eyes away, but she could feel it with no problems. It was calloused and strong, just as she remembered on her cheeks from weeks ago. An embarrassing connection, yet one that made her smile despite it all.

_ Is he going to kiss me during the movie? _ she wondered as they arrived and made their way to their seats. Lynn went to get popcorn and drinks after being sure they'd be seated together, leaving her to fret on the thought alone. They were pretty far from home, but the theater was pretty crowded, it could be a bad thing if they kissed here. She realized that was kind of a “big picture” thought, but it was also “in the moment”, right? It was starting to grow harder to discern the difference.

Linka’s eyes widened when her brother returned with a small bag of popcorn and a single drink with two straws. “Cheaper to share a drink, right?” he said with a laugh as he sat. “I'll, um, bite my straw so we can tell whose is whose even if it's dark.”

Was her surprise because he was clearly trying to emphasize the distance between them or because she realized she was disappointed? This was supposed to be a platonic date, she should want this. Why was she only remembering that fact now? Or, wait, what if he was specifically telling her which straw was his to test the waters? Maybe he was trying to see if she'd stick to her own straw or use his. That was pretty complicated and roundabout for Lynn, though. Why did she keep imagining him coming up with these elaborate plans?

Linka found herself musing that thought with her lips around a straw crunched by someone else's teeth. Slipping it out of her mouth with a start, she stared at it for a few seconds, then turned to her brother. Lynn was completely enraptured by what happened on screen, however, so Linka just looked back at the straw and frowned. 

She hadn't been paying attention, so she really just used his straw by accident. But, come on, she totally hoped he had noticed, that he had assumed she'd done it intentionally. Linka glanced at his arm, watching light flicker on his skin and leave small, subtle shadows outlining the contours of his muscles. He hadn't seen her share his straw so it was a pipe dream to imagine him lifting the armrest and drawing her to his side with that arm.

With a heavy sigh masked by the sound of the movie, Linka turned back to the screen, not really paying attention to it as she brought a finger up and nipped her knuckle lightly. The tiny pain brought some clarity and she chastised herself again for not just agreeing to the date before Lynn had to bullshit an opening that made them both unsure about what the other thought. Not that she knew if he was stressing back and forth like her, but she hoped he was. She may as well admit it to herself now.

So the film ended frustratingly uneventfully, but Lynn seemed to have enjoyed it, which made Linka happier. He was gushing about this scene or that joke and it was pretty cute seeing him fanboy over something he normally wasn't particularly into while they headed away from the theater. Maybe if he got more into superheroes this was something they could do more often.

“Food time!” Lynn said as they arrived at the food court. “Where should we eat?”

Linka’s eyes roamed across the mundane assortment of fast food options: Burgers, pizza, Chinese, a vaguely healthier choice... the typical alignment. Reaching the end of the sad lineup, her eyes settled on a sign further down the hallway. Just far enough to distance itself from the low-grade stuff there was a chain restaurant she recognized. Not fine dining by any means (they specialized in burgers), but nicer for sure (fancy burgers). It seemed more appropriate for a date than the other options, in any case.

“How about there?” she asked, pointing.

“Hm?” Lynn followed her gesture. “Oh! Oh, um…” In the corner of her eye, Linka saw his hand instinctively shift to touch the pocket that held his wallet. His face fell too, and she understood.

“I'll cover it. You paid for the tickets and got the stuff from the bookstore,” she offered.

“Well, but that's not how I- I mean, the tickets didn't cost that much and, er…”

Lynn was floundering badly. He had probably wanted to pay for everything today, Linka realized. Kind of old-fashioned in this day and age, but the sentiment was nice. She could imagine him cursing the manga in his shopping bag since the impulse buy had bit into his funds. She'd intended from the beginning to pay for the meal anyways, though, so even if he didn't know it, the point was moot.

“Don't sweat it. You can pay me back the difference later,” Linka said nonchalantly, taking his hand in hers and tugging him along.

He followed obediently, if hesitantly. Linka felt some small warmth in her cheeks at the second such contact, especially when he squeezed tightly for a second before shifting to a more casual grip. She made sure to stay slightly ahead of him since it suddenly was kind of embarrassing be at his side. The arrangement did let her talk to the host first, cementing the plan before he could raise any possible objections, though she figured he had accepted things at this point. Reaching their booth, she hesitated for a split second before finally releasing him.

It was a pleasant meal, definitely better than if they'd sat in the food court. No bright fluorescents and cacophony echoing from hallways here, just dim incandescents and murmuring chatter from the other booths. It was still fairly early when they arrived, but as time passed, more people came in and it grew louder. 

Still, it was nice for a while and gave them time to talk about the movie more, Lynn scoffing at her criticisms. She was just being realistic about its quality, but he hadn't seen as many superhero movies so he didn't get quite how cliche some parts were. It was the kind of argument you like to have, where disagreements are laced with cheeky jabs and little seriousness.

When the waiter brought the bill, Linka caught her brother frowning at it for a moment, but she pretended not to notice. He didn't say anything about it, instead excusing himself to go to the bathroom. The check came back while he was still gone, so, after signing, Linka retrieved his shopping bag and decided to wait outside the entrance for him. Looking back in, she watched Lynn return after a minute or two, pause, and turn his head about in confusion. She supposed it had been rather abrupt of her to leave, but she trusted he could figure it out quick enough.

Not without help, apparently, since he caught the attention of their waiter and presumably asked where she was. Linka rolled her eyes, disappointed in his problem solving skills, but whatever. The waiter pointed him in the right direction, then said something that made Lynn flinch. He scratched his head, looked away, muttered something back with a sheepish expression, then scurried towards her.

“Did he say something weird to you?” Linka asked, cocking her head as she held the shopping bag out.

“It was nothing,” Lynn said quickly, taking the bag and moving past her.

“Lynn!” she exclaimed, half-frustrated as she grasped his hand. He hesitated a step, but she followed and he kept moving. “What'd he say?”

Lynn glanced back, not at her face, but rather their hands. She felt the tiniest of squeezes before he spoke. “It’s not important. Let's go home.”

Linka didn't pursue the question further, despite being hella curious. They were holding hands again, and while Lynn seemed to be in a sudden rush to get to their car, he kept a firm grip on her. She wasn't sure how to interpret things at the moment, hardly different from the rest of the day, but she did sense something had shifted from whatever that waiter had said.

They reached the vehicle and paused at its back. Linka glanced at her brother, but he didn't meet her eyes. With bright cheeks, he opened his fingers to release her and she reluctantly followed suit. Feeling very confused, she made her way to the passenger door and hopped in the car as he did.

“He said, um,” Lynn grunted in a terrible imitation of nonchalance while he fumbled to insert the key and turn the car on. Finally succeeding, he continued, “He, I mean, the waiter, said I had a pretty cute girlfriend and I was lucky.” He hesitated after saying it. “I, uh, told him you were actually my sister. Of course, y’know!”

Linka reflected on her memory and was pretty sure he hadn't said more than a few words. Certainly not enough to correct the waiter like he said he had. She wondered how he'd actually answered, but didn't confront him.

Verbally, anyways. Waiting until he seemed settled into a driving mentality, she reached over and hooked her hand under his upper arm. Dragging her fingers down it, she pulled towards herself until his hand unlatched from the wheel and slowly fell down between them, touching the console just as their hands met. Saying nothing, Linka laced their fingers together, smiling to herself before looking up and finding a similar smile on his face while he focused on the road.

The ride was silent. Linka had no idea what to say besides bringing up the movie again. Even if they hadn't already exhausted that subject at dinner, it seemed kind of inane in this situation. Closing her eyes, she instead tried to visualize Lynn’s response in her memory, tried to read his lips.

“Oh, uh, th-thanks!”

Well, maybe that was what he said, at least. Memories are fickle, even very recent ones, and Linka wasn't some FBI trained lip-reader, so she might just want that to be what he said. But she couldn't argue herself out of it making sense as they quietly held hands on the way home. It was a strangely encouraging thought, the idea of him not correcting the waiter.

They arrived home to a half-filled house. They shared a glance before exiting the car, worry about questioning brothers blatantly on both their minds. Linka knew how she'd respond (just saw a movie, already ate, no mention of “date”), but what if Lynn flubbed it? He'd been the one to ask her out, so she hoped he had something planned. The look in his eyes showed more nervousness than confidence, though, so they were probably going to play this by ear.

Surprisingly, it was pretty easy. Since half the family had been out, plus them, the remaining members had opted to simply order pizza and do a family movie night. In fact, it felt almost  _ too _ easy giving her intended answers before passing the living room and heading up the stairs. Maybe Lynn  _ had _ planned this out? But then again, he had let her do the talking to their distracted family and so she suspected they had just gotten weirdly lucky and she was ascribing plans to him that were far too clever for his jock brain yet again.

Stopping at her door, Linka felt bad about her last thought. Lynn was standing in front of her, looking pretty unsure of what to do. Today had been wonderful in a lot of ways, and it wouldn't have happened without him. She shouldn't call him stupid just because things could have been handled a bit better and maybe she wished he'd done some things different over the course of the date.

“So, um,” Lynn said awkwardly, “that was a nice PLATONIC date, right?”

Oh… right, they were still entertaining that bullshit. Linka cocked her head and glanced aside, feeling annoyed with her past self. Her brother quirked an eyebrow, confused by her gesture. She felt an intense need to make things clear between them, and she didn't fear at all he might reject it.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling at him. She grasped his shirt and pulled him down to meet her as she leaned in. Despite her confidence, she chickened out a tad at the last second, her lips pressing just aside his instead of on them. Still, she felt the brush of contact as she pulled away. “Let's do this again sometime.”

Lynn stared at her, wide-eyed, but didn't react otherwise. Linka felt like he got the point, which was good enough for now. It was pretty embarrassing, so she shot him another smile, then opened her door. She looked back after stepping into her room to find Lynn still staring at her. Reaching her limit, she turned away with a hot face, tossing the door closed behind her.

*thkk*


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that yes, this is an explicit fic

*thkk*

Lynn blinked as his brain registered the sound before the feeling of wood impacting his hand. He hadn't even noticed that he'd flung it up to stop Linka’s door from closing, but he instantly knew why he had. A sudden, burning need he couldn't possibly put aside for even a second. He stepped forward, pushing the door open.

“L-l-lynn?!” Linka exclaimed, spinning to face him with shock. “W-w-what-?”

He didn't answer her, instead closing the door gently behind him. He felt like he should say something, but he didn't know what he could possibly say that would convey how he felt right now. Well, there was one thing he could say, but the three words were too stuck in his throat to be an option.

Instead, he stepped towards her, his eyes locked on hers. She reflexively moved backwards a bit, but while she seemed uncertain, Linka didn't look intimidated. The surprise wilted out of her, eyelids drooping slightly and a haze starting to cloud her eyes. Lynn felt an instinctive twinge that told him to go on, that she wanted this too.

He paused a foot away, slowly took her shoulders in hand and she obliged the tiny pressure of his fingers, closing the final gap herself. She lay her hands on his chest, not as a ward against him, but another physical connection, Lynn’s jersey gradually slipping into her curling fingers as their faces came ever closer. The last thing he saw before his eyes drifted closed was Linka’s doing the same. Their lips touched and they both immediately shocked away a millimeter, the surprise of this actually happening again reverberating one last time before they pressed together firmly in acceptance. 

Lynn was surprised how different it felt compared to his memory. Soft instead of rough. Gentle instead of aggressive. Warm instead of blazing hot. He'd liked that kiss a lot, but he realized the furious adrenaline that had driven it drowned out some of what had made it all so amazing. He wished this could've been their first, quiet and understanding, not loud and confusing like the actual one.

“Heh,” Linka laughed out of the kiss, her breath brushing his lips.

“What?” Lynn asked, pulling back to look her in the eye. She was still clinging to his jersey, so he wasn't afraid she'd changed her mind.

“I just thought that, like, maybe if you kissed me this way first… I dunno, it's just kinda funny.”

Lynn frowned slightly, not happy how her thoughts mirrored his own on the matter. Yeah, he wished he hadn't started things so forcefully, but he hadn't planned it out or anything. Even if he had planned it out, it wasn't like he could've kissed her this way instead.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he muttered, setting his forehead on hers and dropping his hands to her waist. “Does that mean you, y’know…”

“I know?” Linka asked coyly, a giggle under her breath as she teased him.

“That's not funny,” Lynn said, blushing. “I'm gonna kiss you again and you better stop me if you don't want me to.”

“Okay,” she murmured, her eyes already slipping closed.

Lynn had half-expected another teasing response so he hesitated a split second before moving in. He sensed some nervousness when their lips touched again and wondered if she had given her non-answer to avoid his question. But what had been his question in the first place? He didn't even fully know himself, having left the interpretation to her with his “y’know”. That meant he couldn't tell what question she was reluctant to answer.

It didn't matter now, though, and Lynn pushed those thoughts away for later. They were making out and she was cool with it, the initial nervousness soon draining out of her. This felt good, amazing actually, and he wasn't about to ruin it for himself.

In fact, it started feeling even better once any paranoia was shoved out of the way. He pulled her closer, putting her body against his while her arms slipped up and around his neck to pull his lips more firmly to hers. Tingling heat radiated throughout him and he broke contact to release a bit of it in a hot breath against her lips. She responded with one of her own and after a second to breathe in some cool air and ponder the heat, they came together again, this time not just their lips meeting.

Lynn didn't know what he was doing when he slipped his tongue into her mouth besides “don't lick her teeth”. That was something Loki had mentioned to him off-handedly as a mocking joke when Lynn had averted his eyes during a kissing scene in a movie once years ago. He'd never been one for kissing scenes (finding them gross and boring), and maybe that had hurt his knowledge on what the hell he was actually supposed to do now that he was in one. He briefly considered pulling back and seeing if Linka would take over, but he wanted to be the lead.

He found his footing, so-to-speak, when she pushed back with her own tongue. It sent a jolt through him, both of pleasure and of challenge. She probably wasn't trying to force him out, considering she was still drawing his neck in, but it was a way of thinking he was more used to, like a wrestling match with tongues. A bit different than the real thing, but understandable to a jock like him. Wrap around her, meet her where she's strong just long enough to surprise her where she's weak. It was a wonderfully endless match since there was no possibility of winning or losing, just enjoying the thrill of the contact.

Linka seemed to like it just as much, moaning into his mouth and shivering in his arms. He'd sensed her stability faltering and wrapped his arms behind her to help keep her from falling, but the close contact and passion of their kiss was driving him on further. Both panting, her harder than him, they pulled apart enough to look each other in the eye. Lynn saw something, a twinkle or flicker, he didn't know, but it spurred him to embrace that drive and guide her slowly backwards until the back of her legs touched her bed.

Blinking, Linka turned her head to look, apparently surprised at the contact. When she returned her eyes to Lynn, he saw they hadn't lost that strange glint. Pressing his lips to hers, he slowly lowered her to sit on the bed, then begin leaning backwards. It was awkward as she got lower, but he was reluctant to release her lips until he had to, so he set a knee on the edge, then a hand on the spread, her weight supported by her arms around his neck and his other under her back.

Still, he eventually had to let go when he felt the sheets under his supporting hand. She followed suit, allowing him to stand while she propped herself on her elbows. Lynn felt an ache twinge in his back from the awkward act and he took a brief moment to stretch it out. 

Brief, but unfortunately long enough that the momentum of things came to a halt. When he looked at Linka now, she turned hot red and averted her eyes shyly. His heart sank a bit, worried she wanted to stop, but he saw her nibble her lip and sit back up. She scooted further onto the bed and patted the space next to her.

Crawling on to sit there alongside her, Lynn wondered how to start things up again. He settled for stroking her hair, so soft and brilliantly white. She hummed at his touch and leaned into him, laying her head against his shoulder. He let his hand fall to her arm, gripping just hard enough to keep her tight against him. As he rested his cheek atop her head, he thought to himself contentedly,  _ Well, this is nice too. _

He had a feeling this was where things were going to stop, the more intense ones at least. Lynn really did like this as well, though, and even if he wanted to go back to making out, he was happy even just sitting here with her. Without words, he understood this as a complete confirmation of how she felt about him. Kissing was one thing, a helluva thing, but she hadn't reacted with confused outrage like before, just a calm, quiet acceptance.

There was a tug at his jersey and he lifted his head to look down. Linka raised hers, gazing at him with a small smile. Nibbling her lip again, her expression turned more embarrassed and she wiggled a little in place. She was antsy, and he had a suspicion of why.

“What's wrong, sis?” he asked coyly, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Er, um…” she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

“Come on, what is it?” he nagged, adding a bit of force with the arm around her and his other hand to her cheek to encourage an answer.

Linka frowned, then glared back at him, obviously annoyed at his teasing. They both knew what she wanted but it was hard for her to just outright ask for it. Lynn was about to end his little joke and kiss her, but she smashed her lips to his defiantly first. 

An awkward strike, it hurt a bit, but Lynn was happy she wanted to keep things going too. He let her push him onto his back, allowing her a minute or two of dominance in the situation. It was a wonderful feeling, how earnestly she moved her lips against his. He faintly wondered how long they had been making out for altogether. It felt like ages, but also bare minutes. It didn't matter too much in the end, because either way, it wasn't enough.

He rolled them over, bringing himself on top and between her legs. A fact he was very aware of when Linka squeezed them to his sides lightly. He broke the kiss for a brief second to let out a breath hot with desire. She flinched at the feeling of it, perhaps in surprise, but definitely not in any negative way, her right leg curling over his left, her heel at the back of his knee in a lock.

Lynn was emboldened by the sensation and his left arm, which had supported him on the elbow, began dragging downwards. Her own arm was in the way, having wrapped his back, but she moved it the instant they touched, allowing his hand to drift lower to her side. It was a different sort of feeling for them both than any other time he may have touched her side, likely because of a difference in intent.

He wished she'd been wearing a shirt instead of a dress, there being no hem there for his fingers to slip under. As he ran his hand between them and over the fabric covering her stomach, it flicked one of her buttons, merely a decoration and another frustrating lack of entrance. Linka shivered as he moved and it only added to the sudden, maddening desire to feel her directly.

Instinctively, Lynn brought his legs up and spread them. The heel Linka had locked him in with popped away as his new position put his thighs under hers, spreading her legs as well. It also hiked her dress up, and he brought his hand down to cup her ass, finally finding what he wanted.

“L-lynn!” Linka said, alarmed, though whether it was because of his hand on her butt, their new position, or both, he wasn't sure. Probably both, but he didn't care, instead taking the opportunity to move his lips to her neck.

So smooth and pretty, not a place he often considered erotic, but he wasn’t considering much at this point. Lynn kissed and nipped here and there, sucking occasionally as he experimented, his only thoughts on which places made his sister moan softly when he ministered to them. Her breath was starting to quicken and he felt heat radiate against him as he struggled to focus enough not to leave a hickey.

It wasn't the only place he felt her heat either. Near the tips of his fingers groping her ass he felt the same heat his groin had as his hips slowly moved back and forth against her. It wasn't quite grinding, being too soft a push, and he hadn't meant to do it, but his body clearly had its own idea of what it wanted. For the moment, though, Lynn just wanted her to feel good and he was more interested on what his fingers felt than what another part of him did.

They slipped further in to the source of the heat, one of them just barely under the fabric of her panties, a source of contact that suddenly felt damper as they neared their target. Lynn hesitated at that and how her skin seemed to soften even more. It was a sobering realization of how close he was to her. He wanted to keep going, but maybe that was too far?

“Lyyynnnnn…” Linka groaned, laying her hand on his arm and running her other into his hair.

Welp, that was all the encouragement he needed. Granted, he realized he had no idea what to do when his fingers moved that final inch and she gasped as he touched her lips. He'd never done this, so he tried just moving forward. He'd seen porn where girls just rubbed the outside while masturbating, so maybe that was enough?

Unfortunately, the angle was awkward since his reach had to curve around her butt and then up, so he suddenly found his middle finger sliding into a hot, wet place. Linka moaned and her grip tighted on him, but Lynn froze. He was inside her! He hadn't meant to go that far, or, well, not right off the bat! He wasn't really sure how far he wanted to go, but something about the feeling of his finger sinking into her (whoops! He stopped that right away) made him… reluctant? Uncertain? Wary?

He wasn't quite sure, but Lynn definitely had the sense that nothing  should go inside his sister today other than his fingers, whatever that meant. He pulled his hand away, Linka sighing as he slipped out of her, and set it on the bed, pushing himself up so he could look at her. He was looking for some kind of guidance, but he couldn't find it in her eyes since they were closed. When they opened, they were filled with a brilliant lust, which gave Lynn a burst of blush, unprepared for such a sight.

Linka looked far away with that vibrant color to her eyes and she added a small toothy grin to it, further flustering her brother. Lynn felt the hand on his arm, which had stayed its ground afore, pass over his skin and gradually downwards between them. He suddenly realized where it was heading and he started. Memories of his fantasies while masturbating returned, but as enticing as they were, he didn't want this now. If she did now what she did in those daydreams, he wouldn't be able to hold back. Best not to let them continue.

So he pulled away. Linka’s face fell, disappointment filtering into her hazy gaze. Lynn felt a twitch of shame at the sight, so he leaned in and pecked her cheek before adjusting himself to her side, sliding his arm under her neck. She tried to follow him with a kiss of her own, but her gripped her shoulder, holding her in place. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, then popped up in understanding when he set his other hand, middle finger still somewhat damp, on her stomach.

It was about to go downwards, but Lynn suddenly had a thought, and instead it went up and into the top hem of her dress. He squeezed her tiny breast, then pinched her nipple, eliciting a squeak of surprise. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt the need to show her chest some attention, but it would've bothered him if he hadn't. Perhaps something like in baseball where you have to hit the bases before reaching home. A stupid thought, but one that calmed his nerves a bit as he brought his hand to its intended destination.

Linka turned her head to look at him as his hand went out of sight under her dress. He watched as her eyes winced closed when he touched her through her wet panties. Her mouth wriggled cutely as he drew his hand up to their band and slid it inside. He felt hair and was surprised at first, more used to the shaved look pornstars generally preferred, but he realized that was a stupid thing to expect from Linka and instead wondered if it was also a shade of white.It was a helpful thought, the mundanity of it bringing his libido down some right before his middle finger stumbled into a very familiar feeling.

It wasn't quite the same, and after a short second of panic, Lynn realized he'd only slipped between her lips and not inside her again. He mentally punched himself in the leg at the absurdity of that somehow being a comforting fact. He lay his head next to hers, pressing his forehead to her temple as he began running awkward circles with his hand, trying to emulate those masturbating pornstars as best he could.

Linka flinched and grunted at his touch, but Lynn couldn't tell if it was positive or negative. One second he thought she liked it, the next he thought she didn't. He wished he knew more about what the fuck he was doing because he really liked the positive moments. It was so hard to read her reactions though.

In the midst of his mishaps, a finger slipped inside her again. Linka moaned at the feeling and Lynn made a decision. Outside was a bust, but she seemed to like inside. His cheeks burned because he totally knew that the main reason he was about to do this was because HE wanted to, yet the logic really was sound, as Levi would say. Probably better not to think of his brother while fingering his sister…

Lynn sat up, his heart dropping when Linka whimpered sadly at the lost touch. He needed a better angle though, and this position provided it. Sucking in a nervous breath, he drew his hand up, then pushed two fingers into her.

“Nmmmhhh…”

Linka suppressed her moan as her face contorted, his fingers sliding in and out easily, a bit further in each time. He worried it might have hurt her, but she was so wet there was barely any friction. Maybe two fingers was too much? She wasn't stopping him, though, her hands occupied with gripping the sheets above her head, so that was a good sign.

His other knuckles finally ran into a pliant resistance and he was as deep inside her as he was gonna get. Lynn wiggled the tips of his fingers, still amazed at the feeling. Warm and tight, he swallowed as he fought the thought of his cock being in such a luxurious environment.

Linka panted quietly as he slowly dragged his fingers out, then just as slowly moved them back in. Her face was still difficult to read, but she still wasn't stopping him so he figured the quirks in her expression were from pleasure. “Hoped” might be a better word, but he didn't want to dwell on the matter. Instead he wondered if he’d make those same expressions when she used her hands on him.

“When.” A presumptuous thought, but in the moment it made perfect sense to Lynn. As her panting increased, he knew he was right about her enjoying this and he picked up his own pace. He loved seeing her like this, knowing it was him giving this to her. He loved knowing this made them lovers in the “adult sense”. It was only natural to assume there’d be some reciprocation, but for right now that was in the back of his mind.

“Lyyynnnn…” Linka sighed, opening heavily lidded eyes to meet his and raising a hand to tug at his collar.

He understood and leaned down to kiss her. It was disjointed and awkward as she shivered and twitched under his ministrations, but Lynn liked that. It might have been the part of him that enjoyed teasing, or maybe that he could feel her desire with how furiously she struggled to keep their lips together, it didn't really matter now, though, it just made him happy.

Lynn broke their kiss, but didn't move away. His lips millimeters from hers, their noses side-by-side, he stared at her closed eyes, patiently waiting. Eventually, after what felt like ages, they opened, filled with lust and confusion. Now was the time, and he wanted to look her in the eye when he said it.

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips before kissing them shortly and pulling away.

Linka blinked hazily, then a glint flashed in her eyes as she comprehended his words. Her mouth opened in a wide grin like she wanted to say something, but he was still finger-fucking her so she faltered. Honestly, it was a weird time to finally come out and say it, but Lynn felt a twinge of pride that he had done it.

“S-stupid,” his sister muttered between pants, but he could tell she was happy. Her hand still at his collar, she yanked lightly to bring him in for another kiss.

*DOK DOK DOK*

“Linka?! You in there?”

They both froze, eyes springing wide at the voice coming from the hall. Her door wasn't locked, they'd started this all so suddenly. He had two fingers fully inside her, a massive boner, and they were obviously between kisses. Milliseconds felt like days as fear ran through her eyes and his soul. The doorknob didn't jiggle, fortunately, so whoever it was was respecting privacy.

“Y-yeah! I'm, uh, changing!” Linka called back. Lynn began gradually removing his fingers and she covered her mouth. He paused at that, but she nodded for him to continue, stifling any verbal reaction to his movement.

“Oh, sorry!” Lynn noticed it was Loki now that he wasn't surprised. He hadn't been with the others when they'd come in. “You came back with Lynn, though, right? I was looking for him, but I dunno where he went.”

Lynn’s fingers finally slid wetly out of her and after a moment to collect herself, Linka eyed him meaningfully. Loki was doubly dangerous considering what he knew. Why was he looking for Lynn?

“Um, I dunno either,” Linka yelled. “Did you check his room?”

“Yeah, he wasn't there. Did he say he was heading out again or anything?”

“Yeah, he might’ve mentioned that at some point… I guess he'll be back later?”

“Okay, thanks,” Loki said, the sound of him trudging off following.

Lynn frowned at his sister, “So I'm out of the house now?”

“Yes!” she hissed back. “What was I supposed to say?”

“And how am I going to pull that off? They saw us come in, but didn't see me go out?”

“They were distracted! It's possible!”

“Okay, but how do I ‘come home’ when I'm already home?”

Linka’s eyes flicked to her window and Lynn sighed. Meathead though he may sometimes be, he had still figured out that was the solution halfway through the little argument. He hoped she might have a better idea, but looked like no dice there.

“Um, sorry…” she said with a quiet smile, cupping his cheek with her hand. “I'll make it up to you?”

She blushed after saying it, likely realizing the possible implications of such a promise in this situation. Lynn felt a throb below send a wild idea to his head and he brought his hand between their faces, still faintly glinting with her juices. He turned it about, examining it for a second before meeting her eyes.

“You can make it up to me now…”

Linka grew even redder, the color spreading to her ears and down her neck as she understood his request. She bashfully nodded and obediently opened her mouth. Lynn swallowed as he moved his fingers inside and she closed her lips around them. She squinted her eyes closed in embarrassment as she began running her tongue around them.

Lynn breathed heavily at the sight and feeling of his sister tasting herself on him. Her tongue felt nice, more active against his skin the walls of her pussy, though lacking their warm embrace. It was more the sight of her sucking on his fingers that was erotic, however; the concentration in her slightly furrowed brow, her hands coming up to lightly hold him in place, the way she occasionally opened her mouth to breath around him.

All of it was making Lynn yet again imagine his cock being where his fingers were, so he decided it was probably time to end things. He pulled his hand back and to his chest. Linka grinned sheepishly at him, running a hand to brush stray hair strands behind her ear.

“Oookay, heh,” Lynn chuckled uncomfortably, unsure how to make his exit not seem too awkward. His throbbing member was not making things easy as he realized he'd have to stand up.

Deciding to just bite the bullet and do it, he flinched at the faintly pleasurable sensation of it shifting against fabric while he moved, but it didn't bother him much. Harder to shrug off was how Linka stared at the tent it made, giggling to herself. He adjusted himself to make it less prominent. He needed to cool down anyway if he was going to seriously climb down the side of the house. Not that he doubted himself, just a very unnecessary distraction.

Cautiously opening the window, he glanced out at the darkening street, then at the side of the house, sizing up the task before him. It shouldn't be too hard, right? Better to stay positive than worry about the answer to that question, he figured.

“Lynn! Wait!”

Pausing right as he set his hands on the frame, he turned to see Linka making her way to him. She hugged him tightly, then leaned up to peck his lips.

“Be careful?” she asked, her gaze deep and meaningful. 

It wasn't a typical wish of good luck, like such statements ultimately often are, but a request. She wanted him to be careful because she didn't want to see him hurt, selfish in a way, but also powerfully encouraging because it was. If Lynn hurt himself, well, that was between him and him. If it hurt Linka to know he'd been hurt, that was another matter entirely.

He leaned in and kissed her back, short, but fierce. “Of course!” he declared confidently as it ended.

Leaping over the frame, Lynn’s hands skillfully twirled to catch him as he landed on the outside of the house. He winked at his sister and she rolled her eyes. A new knock at her door told him he should get a move on though, so he began making his way down.

This climb was going to be difficult, which seemed weirdly appropriate from what he remembered the few times he payed attention in English class. An obstacle that mirrored the road ahead. He had gotten what he wanted, as precarious a thing as it was, and he needed to be careful if he wanted to keep it. And Lynn did intend to keep it.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a calm evening tonight, much as things had been every night since the day of the date. Various members of the family were doing their various after-dinner things, some of which took them outside the house and some of which placed them inside their rooms. Hence only a couple of the Louds were watching the TV currently. 

Linka scratched irritably at the surface of the sofa cushion she sat upon. The quiet noise it made was covered up by the sound of the TV, which was why she was using the act to alleviate some of her frustration. Leaning on the armrest of the sofa, she glanced at the source of her woes, her brother Leif, then at the reason he was currently a major nuisance, her brother Lynn, who leaned upon the opposite armrest, Leif between them.

It wasn't Leif’s presence that was so annoying, just his location. Linka didn't need to full-on cuddle Lynn to find satisfaction, but she did feel a powerful urge to at least surreptitiously hold hands or something of the like. Some kind of hidden, but meaningful, contact that she could share with him without letting on how things were between them now.

It was embarrassing how much she enjoyed his presence all of a sudden. A switch had flipped and Linka felt warm and giddy all over when she touched him in a way she hadn't before. Even at times when a sneaky hand-hold was the best that could be done, she felt so strangely happy despite such limited contact. She couldn't quite explain to herself why it was, except that it all reminded her of that particular encounter after their date.

Linka preferred to think of it in such clinical terms because it was way too embarrassing otherwise. Feeling like a stereotypical schoolgirl-in-love when leaning against Lynn was one thing, but the memory of that evening was another. Nothing of the like had happened in the week and change since, and she felt a bit glad that that was the case.

After sending Lynn off on his trek down the side of the house, she'd had plenty of time to really let the gravity of the situation fall into her. Linka had had an extremely flustered realization that not only had she made out with her brother, not only had she let him finger her, not only had she enjoyed it, but she had wanted to give him a handjob! It was amazing that it seemed only that particular fact was what rustled her jimmies, but Linka chalked it up to her brain being overloaded with the insanity of it all. Of course, she really knew her fluster about that specific thing was for another reason.

Tit-for-tat. That was what she'd been thinking on the date. Kind of awkward wording in retrospect considering Lynn’s little grope maneuver in the middle of things, but that wasn't what got at her about it all. It'd felt so weirdly easy in the moment, so obvious a thing to do, to reach down and give him the sort of pleasure he was giving her. After the fact, she had trouble keeping a straight face when imagining what she might have done if he hadn't stopped her. Or when remembering her disappointment that he did.

Still, embarrassment was an easy thing to get over when she could snuggle against him and remember him saying those three special words right before they had to stop. Linka hadn't been able to work up the courage to ask if he really meant it, but she knew that he did. It was in the way he held her to him when it was just them in a room, the way he smiled at her from a distance if others were around, the way he kissed her forehead a few days ago right in front of their family in a brazen show of affection that thankfully wasn't questioned.

Linka treasured the memory of that kiss almost as much as she did the first two. A very dorky, teenagery thing to do, but with less than two weeks of proper “dating” experience with Lynn, it was a fairly notable thing. Besides, she  _ was _ a dorky teenager so what was the difference?

All in all, she was floating kind of high on all these emotions which was why something as simple as another brother being in the way was so annoying. She looked back at Leif, making sure not to frown as she pondered that such a small lad could cause such a large amount of frustration. She noticed something in the unfocused part of her vision, though. 

Adjusting, her eyes met Lynn’s. There was some kind of understanding that flickered between them, but Linka didn't know how to act on it. She was still thinking about how Leif was between them. What could they do before he left?

Lynn stood and bopped his fist into his hand. “Oh, right! The thing!” he said loudly. 

Both his siblings looked at him. “Thing?” Leif asked.

“Yeah, the thing I had to do,” Lynn responded. “Hey Linka, can you help me?”

“What thing? Do you need my help too?” Leif asked.

“Nah, Linka’s good. Thanks, though.”

She blinked, astonished at how awful of an excuse to leave together this was. It was a good thing Leif was one of the less suspicious members of the family or he might have kept asking questions. Linka doubted Lynn had even bothered to come up with a “thing” at all. Especially since she hadn't agreed to help yet when he grasped her wrist and pulled her along wordlessly. At least that was fairly in character for him and therefore less unusual than it could have been.

She stumbled behind him as he dragged her to his room. Fortunately  Lars was one of the out-of-the-house members of the family. Even still, Linka’d half-expected to find him moping on his bed with this poorly laid out plan. What would Lynn have done then?

A thought thrown away when Lynn showed her what he was doing now. Pulling her into a tight embrace and smirking with a confident gleam in his eyes, he leaned in and pecked her lips. Linka flinched and frowned at him, displeased at how quick it all was. But he kept the same expression and she felt a goofy smile force its way out of her as the seconds passed. When he went in for a second kiss, she pushed back to make sure it wasn't just a peck.

“Ha! I knew it,” Lynn laughed against her lips.

“Knew what?” she asked, pulling away. His smirk now had an obnoxious quality to it, despite appearing much the same.

“You wanted this. A lot.”

“Wh- No, I didn't! What?” 

Linka didn't know quite what she was rejecting, but she felt like she had to be defiant. It could be several things he thought she wanted, especially considering what happened that one evening. They were alone in a room, just like then; had he meant for things to go past a quick kiss? They could have just done that in the hall.

“I, um…” she muttered, feeling heat spreading through her while Lynn continued to simply smirk.

“I saw you scratching the couch. You wanted Leif to go away so it'd just be us, didn't you?”

“Oh, I, y-yeah. I guess,” Linka answered, feeling a bit underwhelmed at his assumption.

“You guess?” Lynn asked, his face quirking in confusion. “You… didn't want this?”

“Well, yeah, I just, um, we could've kissed in the hall, so I thought…” she trailed off.

Lynn shook his head a bit, still confused. “I thought you'd think it was too open, so a room would be safer. Wait, what  _ did _ you think?”

“I, er, nothing,” Linka said, burying her face in his chest in embarrassment. She should’ve just let him have that minor victory instead of being defiant. It'd just been a knowing smirk then, but now…

“Wait… did you…? Because we're alone in a room?”

She could practically hear the puzzle pieces clicking together in his head. “No! It's not like that! I mean, I didn't want that! I just thought you might think I want that.”

Lynn moved a hand under her chin, lifting her face up to peer at it curiously. Linka looked to the side, having trouble meeting his gaze. She noticed him getting pinker in the corner of her eye.

“You thought I meant the stuff we did in your room?” he asked.

“You could've!”

“Well, I, um, didn't. Uuuuh, d-do you want to do that again?”

Linka squinted her eyes closed, incapable of believing he'd seriously asked her that. What the hell was she supposed to say? She didn't not want to do it again, which was a hard enough thing to admit to herself, much less him. So if she said “no” she'd be lying, and if she said “yes”, well, who knows what would happen? All she'd wanted was to cuddle or hold hands or something, now she was in this predicament.

“N-” she started, hesitating as she prepared to give the best answer she could. “Not right now!”

She opened her eyes to find Lynn fully flushed, his mouth hanging open. “Uuuuh, when then?”

“Lynn! Oh my gosh!” Linka exclaimed in frustration, whacking his chest repeatedly.

“Oh shi- sorry, I didn't mean to say that!” He said, releasing her and stepping backwards. “I, er, yeah, sorry. I dunno.”

Linka glared at him, not actually angry, but definitely irritated at his obtuseness. She watched him adjust his hips, clearly trying to hide a small tent in his pants. She remembered feeling extremely pleased when he'd had one that other night, which was just one more embarrassing factoid. She had to admit feeling a little pleased right now, though, too.

Still, there was the concern about how they’d been interrupted the last time. Thankfully, Lynn said it turned out Loki just wanted him to help with some sports trivia. Still, Linka couldn't help but worry about if he'd merely barged in without knocking. Hell, probably the only reason he hadn't was because it was her room and if the same situation occurred now, in Lynn’s, they wouldn't be so lucky.

She felt a hot frustration come over her and she gripped Lynn’s shirt to pull him into another kiss. Her hands loosened and slid down his torso, feeling every contour of his body through the fabric as she embraced the desire within for a brief moment. “N-not now,” she whispered breathily against his lips. A statement both to him and herself.

Turning away, Linka was suddenly wrapped in his arms. “Soon?” he asked.

A sense of glee hit her, the fact he said it striking her as more important than the obvious fact he wanted her. It was like how him saying he loved her that night struck her as more important than how everything he'd done since the first kiss had made his feelings obvious. Like his words gave the clear 20/20 hindsight she'd been wary to accept in fear she'd been wrong.

Linka felt a squeeze at her chest and glanced down in surprise to see his hand groping her. Well, even if words hadn't made his desire clear, that certainly was. 

“Lynn! Come on!” she hissed, driving away the previous glee as she pushed his hand away. She shuddered as his hands switched to track up and down her sides while he nipped at her ear. “Lynn… stop,” she quietly gasped.

Linka lost herself for a second and she realized her ears were one of her weak points. Something to be careful of in the future, but for now she elbowed him hard in the stomach. He flinched away in surprise, yet made no exclamation of pain. That wasn't a particular surprise to her considering she’d just felt up his abs.

“No need to be rough,” Lynn grumbled.

“Yes there was!” she snapped, turning to glare at him. “I said not now! What if someone comes in? Like Lars? Or Loki?”

Lynn frowned, looking aside. His disappointment wasn’t hard to read, but she was glad he understood her logic. Looking back at her, he had a weird mix of sheepishness and defiance in his expression, but fortunately the lust seemed to have gone, at least a bit.

“I… sorry, I guess. I just want to… I dunno…”

Linka knew that he was really completely certain about what he wanted, but she was happy he realized the foolishness of his impatience. She reached towards him and stroked a few fingers across his temple affectionately. He smiled warmly, and she felt a weird twinge, a sudden hope he'd say he loved her again.

Yet he didn't, and the moment ended as her mood quickly soured. Linka made sure she didn't show that on her face and instead turned to leave. Lynn followed her as she left the room, but she then excused herself to the bathroom while he headed back to the den. Sitting upon the closed toilet, she slapped her hands to her cheeks harshly.

Her mood hadn't soured because he hadn't said it. Not directly, at least. No, it was because Linka realized she'd totally fallen into lust herself when he nipped her ear. She only was stopping him because she was afraid of getting caught. She didn't like that about her feelings. If it was only lust, then wasn't it sort of like she was using him because he loved her when she didn't love him?

Which, well, did she love him? Almost certainly, but why hadn't she told him yet? Probably fear. Just as his words had been more important to her than his actions, the same was true for what she'd been putting into all this. That was an intimidating hurdle to leap.

Yet Lynn had done it. Granted, the metaphor fit him as an athlete, and granted he’d said it at an incredibly weird time, but he'd done it. She should do it, too, right? Lynn didn't seem to mind that she hadn't reciprocated yet, but this was seriously starting to bother Linka right now.

She enjoyed kissing him, touching him, being touched by him, but she hadn't said she loved him? Tit-for-tat, right? That was how she was handling things? Wasn't this wildly unfair to him? She had to say it.

Linka marched to the door, paused, and looked back at the toilet. With a sigh of frustration, she went back and flushed it, then ran the sink for a little bit. She didn't know how long she'd been spinning her brain in circles and something about the stupid act of pretending she'd actually used the bathroom calmed her nerves a bit. Maybe the sense of success at a cover-up?

No one was outside the door, fortunately enough. Nor on the stairs, nor in the living room besides Lynn when she arrived. A perfect situation, especially since she was singularly locked on doing this. She marched right over, taking a wide stance in front of him, grabbing his face and mashing her lips to his for a short second. Her eyes bored into his as she spoke.

“I love y-mmmrrphh!”

“-the fuck!” Lynn hissed, his hand covering her mouth. “Leif’s still down here, dummy! The hell are you doing?!”

There was an irony to this situation that did not escape Linka’s notice. Feeling like an idiot, she realized she was letting her emotions get the better of her just like she'd tried to stop Lynn from doing in his room, potentially getting them caught in a much more vulnerable place. Footsteps sounded from the hallway and they separated as their brother entered.

“Oh, hey Linka!” Leif said cheerfully. “I'm hittin’ the hay! Night! Night Lynn!” They watched him leave, then faced each other again.

“Seriously?” Lynn immediately said, folding his arms.

Linka opened her mouth, but had no retort. Instead, she folded her own arms and roughly plopped next to him. They sat in silence a few minutes, no one else coming in nor any sounds indicating they soon would. Satisfied things were safe, she flopped against him, arms still crossed.

Lynn grunted at the impact. He glanced at her, but she didn't do the same, keeping her eyes steadfastly forwards. Another minute passed and he uncrossed his arms, using the one opposite her to push her away just enough for him to wrap its twin around her. He stroked her shoulder for a bit and her rigid posture faded against him. She sighed, toying with her hair.

“Did you mean it?”

Lynn asked it right when she was thinking about doing so herself. Maybe it was because she'd just tried and failed to properly say it, but even despite her confidence that he had meant it from all the things he did both before and after he'd said it, she now really wanted to hear a confirmation. She'd just felt like words were stronger than actions, after all.

“Did you?” she muttered.

“I asked first, dork,” Lynn muttered back. Then he kissed the top of her head. “But yeah, of course I meant it.”

Now it was her turn, but in her calming mood old concerns seeped in suddenly, worries she'd had between when this all started and the date night. Linka brought her hands together, shuffling them about. “I… I'm pretty sure I meant it.”

Lynn reacted in a subtle way, but she noticed. There was a quick freeze to his motions before he resumed them, rubbing her side and kissing her head again. “What do you mean?” he asked.

It was different than other times he'd flinched or frozen. There was a boat load of worry in his question and she could hardly blame him. He'd been so confident in his answer, yet she hadn't. For however much she'd wanted to tell him she loved him, she could only be honest if she admitted she wasn't entirely sure she did. It'd taken until now for her to say it, after all.

“It's,” Linka started, shuffling her hands some more, “it's just a bit weird to think about. Like, I dunno, we shouldn't feel this way, right? S-so, I'm pretty sure I do, but I'm not completely sure…”

“You seemed pretty positive a few minutes ago.”

“Well, I…” she hesitated, feeling flustered, “I wasn't really thinking right. It was a dumb thing to do. I knew Leif was down here and all, but I just sort of forgot.”

“That sounds pretty positive to me,” Lynn said. He tugged her side ever-so-slightly harder. “You're just overthinking things.”

“How do I not overthink being in love with my brother, brainiac?” she responded harshly. In her frustration, she poked his side repeatedly with her thumb.

He gripped her chin and lifted her face to look at her. Linka saw some fear in his eyes, but his expression otherwise exuded confidence. A bright smile with a slight gleam of teeth and a cocky waggle of his eyebrows as he spoke.

“Just accept it!”

“You're an idiot,” she said grumpily as he pecked her forehead. 

She had to admit she appreciated how he brushed aside the complications, though. Lynn was charming in his simplicity on the matter. Linka really liked the idea of doing that, just accepting how it felt being with him right now and not dwelling so much on the details of the relationship, however important they were.

She set a hand to his side and pushed away to look around. She didn't expect to find anyone, but she just wanted to be sure. Once it was confirmed they were alone, she kissed him briefly. He tried to lengthen it, but she held him back with a hand on his chest.

“My room,” she said quietly.

The disappointment on Lynn’s face rapidly turned around, which forced Linka to suppress a giggle. Rising from the couch together, she made her way to the stairs while he cut the TV off. She padded up them, trying not to make a lot of noise, and found the upstairs hallway empty, a lucky break.

They slipped into her room, making sure to open and close the door quietly. Facing each other, there was a pause. Linka remembered how hypnotized she'd felt standing almost exactly the same way when he'd barged in. How she knew exactly what he wanted and how she realized she wanted exactly the same thing. 

This time didn't have that magically rosy tint that made it all so easy, but then, that had been the culmination of weeks of build-up all crashing into her at once. There'd been a release, and while she now knew for certain how he felt unlike before then, it was strangely difficult to do what she wanted. Without that tension guiding her movements, her thoughts, her desires, she had to reach out and take it with her rational mind.

So she did, grabbing his cheeks and pressing her lips to his. Linka liked how it felt, but it wasn't as good as the other kisses. There was a twitch in her head, her own unsure words about love sneaking in to make her fret. Ending the kiss just as Lynn wrapped his arms about her, she looked at him studiously.

It was obnoxious, the confidence he carried. Even the tiny bit of fear that had been in his eyes before was gone. Nothing but an absolute sureness of what their relationship was now remained. “Just accept it,” he'd said, and somehow she felt like she could looking at that annoying visage.

Linka felt her feet leave the floor. Instinctive panic shot her hands to Lynn’s shoulders for stability as he carried her towards the bed. He stopped at that, cocked his head at her, then lowered his hips and jolted back up. The force lifted her up into the air, and her legs snapped around him as her butt fell into his hands.

She realized what had just happened and glared at him as he groped her ass. “Pervert,” she said, sticking her tongue out.

“Hey, you were the one who brought it up in my room. Then you brought me to your room… Just saying.”

Tit-for-tat, she brings it up in his room and he brings it up in her room. Linka sighed as she realized her own strategy was having an interesting turnabout, even if Lynn didn't know. Just accepting it, she hugged him, leaning her head over his shoulder and closing her eyes to focus on the tingling warmth spreading through her.

Lynn set her on the bed, and she dutifully moved further onto it as he followed. It was almost exactly like last time, though she wasn't as lost in passion this time as crouched over her, knees straddling her hips. They shared a gaze of recognition at this before coming together again.

Linka wondered if they were moving a bit too quickly in this relationship, Lynn’s hand soon squeezing her breast. One proper date and they've already gotten this far like it was nothing. Then again, they'd had years and years together before this all, so maybe they had actually moved too slowly? Granted it was in a different sense of how they felt about each other, but wasn't it the same sort of build-up that childhood friends face? It was a philosophical question for later, since unlike last time, Linka was wearing a more casual t-shirt and Lynn wasn't troubled by a lack of access.

He broke their kiss to move past her face and nip at her ear, his hand sliding under her shirt and then bra at the same time. Linka squeaked at the attention given her newly found weak spot, a shudder escaping her as he simultaneously pinched her nipple. She ran her own hands under his shirt, sensually tracing his muscles with her fingers.

Lynn brought his hand out and began lifting her shirt, his thumbs hooking under her bra when they reached it and bringing it along. The air felt cool on her hot skin, but Linka was distracted by the uncomfortable feeling of her bra’s now awkward placement. She slid her hands to his chest and pushed him away. Sitting up she removed her top and was pleased that he did the same.

Now when they lay back down she felt him directly against her. There was more of a connection than before and she felt a burst of happiness, though it was muddled confusingly with lust. It made her feel good in any case. Very good. And when he moved to run his tongue on her earlobe the closest thing to a coherent thought was the memory of something she'd tried last time.

Lynn didn't stop her this time when her hand began tracking it's way down his body. Instead, he lifted off of her, unfortunately ending that delightful connection, but giving her room to reach down and find the stiff bulge in his gym shorts. That made her happy too, made her feel desirable. Not that the rest of what was going on didn't, but there was something more palpable to things feeling it under her hand.

She slipped her hand up and inside his shorts and boxers. Linka hesitated when she actually touched his member, suddenly a bit nervous. Lynn whispering “Fuck…” against her ear didn't help. She remembered how he had blazed forth with her, though, and she softly took hold of him.

Lynn had stopped what he was doing, instead pressing his forehead into the bed next to her. She figured he was distracted by the experimental pumps she was giving him, a fact confirmed when he shifted a little further up her body and pressed the sides of his shorts down to reveal his cock to the world. Linka stared down at it, adjusting her hand to a more comfortable grip, and she felt a bit amazed she was actually giving a boy a handjob as she saw her hand move closer and further. This was something she had expected she might do someday, but certainly not in this context.

She had a decent idea of how to do it, but she knew experience would have helped a lot. She listened to Lynn’s grunts and pants, trying to read them as she moved her hand up and down, faster and slower, harder and softer, always careful not to be too forceful as she experimented. Eventually she found a comfortable rhythm and stuck with it, tilting her head to see Lynn’s eyes closed as he enjoyed her touch. She leaned up to peck his shoulder, unfortunately the only part of him she could currently reach.

Some time passed, then some more, and Linka’s arm began to grow a bit tired. She wondered if she was messing up somehow, but she didn't know how long it took boys to get off. Lynn’s pants had increased in tempo, and he seemed more tense, so she worried maybe she was just edging him, getting him close, but not quite there. Perhaps if she jacked him fas-?

“Ah!” he cried, startling her. Her hand froze and she winced as a warm strand of cum smacked just below her eye and fell along her cheek and jaw. She resumed her motion as further shots didn't quite have that much force, instead landing on her breasts and stomach.

She was pretty sure she'd always heard about girls getting cum on their hands when she'd read erotic parts of stories, but it seemed like that was the only part of her that was dry. She glanced down, letting him go and turning her wrist about to examine before looking at the sticky streaks all over her. Linka felt Lynn kiss her temple, lingering a long moment before he moved down to sit in her lap. His chest rose and fell as his breath slowed and he had a small grin.

A grin that grew as he barked out a laugh. “Ha! Oh crap, I hit your face?!” Linka frowned at him while he looked her up and down. “Wow…” he said, admiring his, or rather her, handiwork.

“Yeah, yeah,” she responded, raising herself on her elbows. She grimaced as the droplets of cum spread around her skin. “Can you grab me a tissue? Or, like, the whole box?”

“Yeah, sure…” Lynn said, bringing a hand to his mouth in thought. He was still staring at her body, then his eyes moved to her cheek. “Can we take a picture first?”

“Lynn! Oh my gosh! Stop being such a pervert!” she exclaimed, shocked at his request. She swatted his arm, but it also made the sticky feeling spread more.

“Sorry, it's just… um, really hot seeing you like this.”

“Well, it's not like it'll be the o-only time,” Linka answered, looking away in embarrassment at the statement. “And what if someone found it? Even if we magically convinced them it wasn’t yours, it's still a picture of me like, um, this.”

“I guess,” Lynn said, sounding disappointed. He got up to get her the tissues. “I wouldn't want anyone else to see it anyways. Like, I know it'd be really embarrassing for you, but I wouldn't like it either.”

Linka suspected his dislike wasn't quite as much about her embarrassment since it was the more likely case that he wanted her all to himself as far as that stuff went. She supposed it was a nice sentiment, but not enough to assuage her annoyance. She might like a bit of possessiveness from him, but not if it was outweighing his concern for her.

“I should make you climb out the window again,” she muttered as he handed her the tissue box.

“Wha- well, if you want, I guess. I thought we could, y’know, spend some time together.”

Linka paused in the midst of cleaning herself up and looked at him. He sounded disappointed in a different way than before. She thought about what he said and realized she'd been assuming he'd leave right after this. She wasn't serious about the window, but she'd thought he'd be out the door after a few more minutes.

But he didn't need to be, did he? It wasn't like last time. There was no other brother at the door, no fear of discovery. It might still be a possibility, but it was late so what was the likelihood of someone knocking on her door or looking for Lynn? What was the rush? Why couldn't he spend some more time in here with her?

Linka flicked a cum-soaked wad of tissue at his face, the last she'd used to clean up. He flinched wildly to dodge it but it still struck him right on the cheek beneath his eye. Tit-for-tat. Recovering, Lynn shot her a bewildered look.

“Grab our shirts,” she commanded. “Just in case we have to put them back on quick.”

Lynn’s expression shifted from confusion to a bright smile and he nodded. He set them on the side of the bed as he climbed on. There was a moment's pause as they wordlessly agreed what to do with a knowing stare. He lay on his back, and she cuddled up to his side, her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and she kissed his pec in return and they both silently chuckled in happiness.

“Just accept it,” he’d said. The words had helped her to do just that a little while ago. Now, though, cuddling with him, hearing his heart in his chest and feeling his hand casually stroke her back, all after making him feel so good, she felt like the words were almost cheap. Nuzzling against him and feeling a bit of sleepiness eke across her mind, her last thought was that she wasn't “pretty sure” about her feelings, but absolutely sure.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn't obvious, italics = past

_ Lynn rubbed his hands together and examined himself. Considering he'd just climbed down the side of the house, he didn't look too mussed up beyond a splinter or two and some scuffs. Nothing he couldn't explain away when he “returned” from his “walk.” He headed to the front door and opened it cautiously.  _

_ Stiffly sneaking his way past the living room in the most casual manner he could manage, Lynn breathed a sigh of relief when he made it without catching even a single glance. Despite the distraction of very recent memories swimming around his thoughts and messing with him in all sorts of ways, the rest of the family was so focused on the TV they hadn't paid him a lick of attention. He hardly believed it true, but Linka had been right about the possibility they didn't notice his “exit”, and his “return” was just the same. With a victorious smile, he made his way up the stairs two at a time, wondering if he should let her know right now, or wait til tomorrow. _

_ It immediately fell when he reached the penultimate step as he saw Loki leaning against the wall by his room. Lynn proceeded to trip as the shock screwed up his timing and he landed roughly on the floor. He heard footsteps approaching him. _

_ “Whoa! Lynn, you okay?” _

_ “Uh, yeah, just tripped on the last step…” he answered, picking himself up. His shin hurt, but it was a minor concern as he faced his older brother. _

_ “You need to be more careful,” Loki chastised. “You sure you're fine?” Lynn nodded, ignoring the throb in his leg. “Okay, well, if you’re sure, I need to ask you something.” _

_ “Oh, uh, what is it?” Lynn asked, trying to keep his voice level through pain and nervousness as Loki wrapped an arm over his shoulders. _

_ “Just some sports trivia for a thing,” his brother answered, guiding Lynn to his and Loni’s room. _

_ They entered and Lynn swallowed deeply as Loki closed the door behind them. He was completely unprepared for this situation and after everything he and Linka’d just done all he could think of was a fear his fingers still smelled like her. He wrapped them into his other hand, just in case. _

_ “So you guys went out on a date today?” _

_ Lynn turned to his brother, blanching at the question. Loki flinched and waved his hands up dismissively. _

_ “Ah, damn! I didn't mean it that way! I was reading this magazine about platonic dates the other day, so I… whatever. You guys went out for a while?” _

_ “Yeah, we saw a movie,” Lynn said, feeling unsurprised Loki was the type of person to legitimately use the term ‘platonic date’. He also didn't feel a need to bring up the dinner aspect, preferring that part remain out of the conversation. _

_ “Okay, so, look, I shouldn't be asking you this, but did she mention anything about a boy?” Loki asked. _

_ “I-I, uh…” Lynn stuttered. _

_ Loki frowned. “Did she ask you to keep quiet, too?” _

_ “Keep quiet?” _

_ “She did, huh?” Loki said with an understanding nod. “She said it was complicated, but I thought maybe you found out about him just like me.” _

_ “H-him?” Lynn asked, bewildered at how his brother was asking him about himself. Linka had said Loki thought she had a secret boyfriend, but Lynn couldn't possibly have expected to be confronted on the matter by their brother. At least, not in this way. _

_ “Come on, man,” Loki said, setting a hand on Lynn’s shoulder. “You two were fighting and then you patch things up so quick you're going on a date so soon after? Oh! I just meant going out to a movie, heh.” _

_ Lynn stared at his brother's face, sheepish at the accidental reuse of the d-word. “Yes, I knew about the boy,” he said robotically. _

_ “Oh, good! See, I'm just… well, like I said, I know we both promised Linka we wouldn't talk about it, but I'm getting that ‘big bro’ sense since I don't know who this guy is. You know what I mean? I just want to make sure she's happy and nothing’s going wrong.” _

_ Lynn adjusted himself awkwardly. He absolutely understood what Loki was getting at and was feeling very judged at the moment by both his brother and himself. It was somewhat confusing to have the protective big brother sense while also being the target of it. More importantly, it was frustrating having his brother unknowingly doubt his commitment to making their sister happy. What the hell could he do about that, though? _

_ “Yeah, I get you,” Lynn muttered, resisting a glare even as he looked away. It was growing difficult to stay cautious in this stressful situation. _

_ “So… why were you two fighting? Do you know who this guy is?” _

_ “Uh! No, just, er, same as you, like you said!” Lynn stammered.The question sent a shock of adrenaline through him and his mind fumbled with the new energy, _

_ What had Loki said that he was agreeing to again? That she was dating someone, but they didn't know who, right? Wait, if Lynn didn't know who her boyfriend was, why would he be fighting her about it? Besides, of course, the fact that it was him who was the “boyfriend”, a complication which, thankfully, Loki didn't know.  _

_ Lynn was having trouble focusing on the course of the conversation and wasn't sure if he'd slipped up at all. If nothing else, he now understood how easy it was to accidentally give out information. Maybe he'd been a bit harsh in his reaction when he first found out about Loki knowing even a tiny bit... _

_ “What happened that made you two stop fighting, then?” _

_ Perhaps it was because he’d just been thinking of Linka, but Lynn remembered clear-as-day the look on her face, the feeling of her in his arms, the act of furiously making out and more. It was all he could do to try and suppress any physical reactions before he spoke in a mostly chill voice, “Uh, she seems pretty serious about him so I just accepted it. I think she really likes him a lot.” _

_ Loki frowned. “What, so you don't care who he is?” _

_ “I mean, yeah,” Lynn answered, rotating his eyes to look anywhere but his brother. “But she'll tell us if she wants to, right? Why rush her?” _

_ “Nnn,” Loki grunted, bring a fist to his mouth and nibbling his thumbnail. “I don't like it. But you're right, we shouldn't push it. Like, you're sure she likes him a lot?” _

_ “She didn't say she loves him,” Lynn said, the honest answer surprisingly easy to say, “but I'm pretty sure yeah.” _

_ “‘Loves’... ha!” Loki chuckled, shaking his head. “Can you believe our Linka has another boy besides us? So weird!” _

_ “Yup, sure is weird!” Lynn said uncomfortably. _

_ “Right, well, if anyone asks, you were just helping me with trivia, right?” Loki said with a wink. “We’re just looking out for Linka, so it's not so bad to have a little white lie about talking to each other.” _

_ “Yeah, right, trivia,” Lynn said with a nod. He turned and left the room, a pat on the back Loki’s farewell. _

_ When he reached his own room, he sighed heavily. That had been a very tense moment and he was glad it was finally over. He tilted his head in thought, considering whether he should tell Linka about this. If he was this messed up, then it'd make her pretty nervous, no doubt, and they'd just had such a great day in so, so many ways. It’d suck to ruin that. And really, did Loki learn anything more than he already knew? In fact, hadn't Lynn convinced him to lay off a potential investigation that he might have done out of concern for their sister? _

_ Actually, that last detail was a pretty good reason to tell her. Even if he'd been successful at convincing Loki to not try figuring out who her boy was, the fact remained that Loki had considered it. She should know that. It was a major concern. _

_ But Lynn didn't want to tell her. He didn't want her to worry. He’d... he’d do it eventually, yeah, but would it be so bad to just let things be for a short while? Couldn't they have a short bit of time without worrying about things? _

_ Lynn remembered the look of surprised happiness on her face when he told her he loved her. It made him smile and he wondered if the thing she tried to say was “I love you, too.” Maybe not, but he didn't mind the fact she hadn't said it. It was hard to imagine she didn't love him after tonight. But if it was the case, he felt like he could convince her. _

_ Yeah, it was better to keep things under wraps for a little while. Just a little while. _

_ \------------ _

Lynn jolted awake, something about the memory shocking him. Wait, had he even been asleep? Yeah, since he immediately felt groggy. Yet, it was such a real dream he was confused as to whether it had actually happened. As his mind focused, he remembered that it might have been a dream, but it was indeed also a memory.

He heard a quiet moan below and looked down to see his sister lying on him and shifting about in an effort to get comfortable after he moved. Her shoulders were bare. He looked up at the ceiling and realized it was light. In a panic he spun his head around to find her alarm clock.

1:12

He sighed in relief, remembering they hadn't turned her lights off, and then cursed himself for passing out. It was lucky that he'd only fallen asleep for a short while. He glanced at the shirts lying by them on the bed, wondering how much they would've helped if he was spotted leaving her room in the morning. Would anybody suspect anything if he said they just slept together and nothing more?

The memory of his conversation with Loki came back to him. It was just the two of them who knew about Linka’s “secret boyfriend”. Actually, crap, hadn't he confirmed Loki’s suspicions by saying he knew about it too? That was a perfect chance to just say, “We stopped fighting because she broke up with him.” 

Loki might have had reservations about it, but it was a plausible reason for why they were suddenly no longer fighting. But, no, he just had to say he thought she was serious about this other non-existent boy because he was happy she accepted his feelings. In his head, Lynn cursed at himself with every vulgar insult he could manage.

He glanced down at his sister, only her white hair visible at this angle, though he heard her murmur quietly in her sleep. He should tell her about the conversation. He'd had his “little while” and it'd been great, but a shock of guilt went through him at the fact he hadn't told her outright.

Lynn grasped her shoulder and shook it gently. She grumbled, then nuzzled in more. His resolve wavered as his heart gushed, but he powered through it, shaking her a bit harder. She grumbled louder, but moved to lift herself off him.

“What's the big i- oh! Lynn!” she said, rubbing an eye ruefully and suddenly pausing. “Oh, um, right, heh…” she mumbled, a grin spreading over her face. She sat upright, looked down at herself and blushed.

She was obviously pretty happy, but he caught the hint when she raised an arm over her breasts. Grabbing their shirts, he handed hers over and put his on. As the cloth slipped over his head he caught the affectionate expression on her face. She moved towards him, but he pressed a hand to her shoulder.

“Wait, we need to talk,” Lynn said, keeping his voice steady.

“What?” Linka asked, looking baffled at his immediate refusal, maybe even slightly hurt.

“It's… I might have… er… not been completely honest about something.”

Linka’s face quirked a bit, still confused, but then her eyebrows shot up. They slowly fell and she looked like he’d thrown her heart in a dumpster. Shit, why couldn't he be better at wording things? “No! I do love you! I meant something else!”

“What?” she asked, cocking her head with a tiny bit of water in her eyes.  “What are you talking about?”

Lynn didn't like seeing her react this way. He knew he was making some sort of mistake with this, but wasn't sure what. Had he been right about correcting himself? He'd been so vague he had no idea what she thought he lied about. He'd gone for the biggest thing, the most important one that he wanted to make sure she knew was true. Was it something else? Ugh, he was probably just confusing the hell out of her since he was absolutely confusing himself.

“I talked with Loki about us,” he blurted out.

Linka blanched, her mouth falling open for a second. She closed it briefly, then stuttered, “Y-y-you mean like I did, r-right?”

“Yeah, almost exactly. Or, crap, not the same, but about the same thing.” Linka stared at him, her eyes filled with incomprehension. “Like, so, he thought I knew about you seeing a guy and he was asking me if I knew more. He didn't think I was the guy.”

“Why’d he think you knew something?”

“Well, we were ‘fighting’ for a while and then we stopped and then we went on a daaa- er, went out. Sooo, he figured I knew something about this guy. He also thought you told me not to talk about it like you did with him,” Lynn said, rubbing the back of his head and looking up as he remembered.

“What'd you say?”

“Um, that we stopped fighting because I was pretty sure you really liked him and so I accepted it. He still thinks it's some random guy.”

“Pretty sure,” Linka repeated, smiling to herself. Her expression quickly shifted, though. “Wait, so Loki talked to you even when he said he wouldn't?”

“He was trying to look out for you,” Lynn explained on his brother's behalf. The look on her face told him she didn't care. Not that he could blame her, considering their situation.

“Hmph, so what did he say he was gonna do?” she asked, her voice turning harsh.

Lynn didn't like the growing anger he saw in her. “He’s not gonna push it. I told him I thought the guy was cool because you liked him.”

“So, wait, the only reason Loki’s not going look into this is because I like you a lot?”

“I mean, I guess? I didn't know how to answer him. It was right after I climbed out your window!”

Linka’s face twitched, a look of betrayal coming over her. “Wai- buh- I thought you said he was just asking you about sports trivia?”

Lynn froze. He had just assumed she knew he meant the conversation happened the same day as their date. He really shouldn't be so surprised by what she just asked. He’d been lying to her after all.

“It was his idea…” Lynn muttered even though he knew that fact meant nothing.

“S-so the only thing stopping Loki from finding out about us is a talk you had over a week ago?”

Lynn sensed she was overloading. The warbling tone in her voice showed this wasn't how she normally handled things. “He’s not asking about it, he said he would lay off,” he tried.

Linka quieted a bit, but her eyes were tracking back and forth as she stared at the bed without really seeing. Lynn officially felt worried that she was overloading a bit too hard. He reached a cautious hand out but she winced away. He frowned, unsure what to do.

“Why didn't you tell me?” she asked.

“I mean, I thought you'd get worried and I just kind of wanted us to have some time together where we weren't worried,” he answered.

“Some time to get a handjob…” Linka muttered bitterly as she looked away.

Lynn flared at the accusation, his mood instantly souring from concern to anger. It cut deep, especially when he remembered his brother’s doubt about the “secret boyfriend” treating her right. Sure, there had been some selfishness in his reluctance to tell her about the conversation, but he wasn't doing it just for sex. He couldn't blame her for being angry about not immediately telling her, but that accusation was way too far for him to handle.

“Fine, whatever,” he said. “Sorry I didn't tell you right off the bat. Sorry I wanted things to be easy for a little while after Loki backed off. Sorry I like being close with you and whatever happens when I am. Sorry sorry sorry.”

He hopped off the bed and stomped to her door, not even bothering to try and recover the conversation. He paused, but only so he could listen for any wayward siblings in the hall. If Linka was going to try and stop him, he totally didn't care. Opening the door and stepping out, he briefly glanced behind him, but didn't see her. Whatever. He closed the door.

Lynn took a step, then sighed involuntarily. It was deep and painful, his chest aching that odd way when emotions physically hurt. It was hard to walk back to his room. The whole time he did, he tried to figure out if not telling her sooner had been worth it. He regretted it, since this all had just happened, but as the adrenaline of the argument faded, he found a new worry to bother him.

What if he  _ had _ just kept it secret for a handjob? What if she was right? What if Loki was right to have a ‘big bro’ sense? He didn't think that was the case, but the fear that it might be just added to his stress.

Entering his room, Lynn flopped on his bed, not even glancing to see if Lars was back. He rolled about, pulling his blanket with him and becoming a human burrito. He wished that Loki would keep his stupid nose out of all this. Maybe then he could have just dreamt simple dreams with Linka in his arms. But no, now she was mad at him and he was mad at himself and everything was so frustratingly hard.

He sighed again, grimacing as it hurt just like the first one did. He supposed he deserved it, but it also made him realize he probably wasn't going to sleep well tonight. Maybe that was a good thing, since it gave him plenty of time to try and think of a way to fix things between him and his sister. The sooner that happened, the better.


End file.
